Hey guys, so let's have a real moment here. I was heartbroken when I watched the season 5 MSF. I did not expect Beth's death, not at all. I found the spoiler in my facebook timeline while out shopping (because I live in Australia and everything is late here) and I seriously had to quickly buy the food in my shopping basket and head home, I could not focus at all on the rest of my shopping or even just being in public when all I felt like doing was having a temper tantrum and screaming in rage and disappointment. So much sadness here.

The hardest part for me is that there was no reunion. Daryl's last moment was that "oh" at the kitchen table one season ago. They will never be together and that makes me so mad!

I had two other Bethyl fics I was working on but I have found it impossible to continute to write them since the MSF because now I feel as though there is no possible way in hell that Bethyl can ever come true, so why am I fantasising about it! My motivation has dropped because I get a legitimate sick feeling in my stomach when I think of all the romantic chemistry build-up that has just gone to shit now.

So I came home, and thought I'd write this up instead.

It has lemons (because I love my lemons) and major Bethylness but you might also cry if you are a big time Bethyl shipper like I am.

#longlivebethyl

Also I apologise if there are any typos or grammatical errors but I was a bit of an emotional wreck while writing this so...

The song (in case you have been living under a rock for the last year or two) is Say Something by Great Big World and Christinas Aguilera (sp?). Lyrics are NOT my own. Neither are the characters.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

I'll be the one, if you want me to

Anywhere I would have followed you

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Daryl finally breathed for the first time in forever. A proper breath, his lungs expanding to their full capacity within his rib cage, his vessels flowing with the oxygen the sweet air provided him.

She was standing before him, like she had stood a thousand times before. He blinked. She was a mirage. A faded memory brought back to life an eternity too late. She was wearing the same clothes as when he had seen her last, sitting across from her at that kitchen table in the candlelight. Beating around the bush about so many things, so many unspoken feelings and words and intentions.

There were others in the hallway, Beth's figure was surrounded by at least a dozen others. Their faces were blurred and of no interest to Daryl's intense gaze as he sought out her baby blues with his own.

Their eyes met, hers looking more like giant orbs against her pale skin, glistening slightly with some kind of emotion that Daryl was not certain of. Fear? Relief? Love? All he knew was that those exact three feelings were racing around his head, chasing eachother down for dominance.

Rick was talking. The lady cop was talking. Daryl remained frozen in place, his crossbow aimed effortlessly at the enemy. He didn't care that Rick wanted to mend bridges, to unite their group. He couldn't give two shits about what happened to Noah, to the pigs, to the patients in this place. He came here first and foremost to find Beth, like he had promised he would. Now that she was before his eyes, unharmed, beautiful as ever, doe-eyed and graceful and just as he remembered her to be.

And I am feeling so small

It was over my head

I know nothing at all

There was a swap, Daryl anxiously moving forward to take Carol's chair as the male cop on their side of the hall shuffled back to the lady cop.

The young female went next, looking relieved to rejoin her group, to avoid any violence.

Daryl bit his tongue, time seeming to slow to a crawl as Beth was nudged forward, closer to him than she had been in months. His skin pricked with jealously as Rick reached for her, brushing his lips against her hair, pulling her close to him in an unspoken greeting.

"Glad we could work things out," the lady cop was saying. Daryl was no longer listening. Beth was in front of him, close enough to reach out and feel the heat of her body. She made no move to speak, her eyes flashing past his as she moved to the back of their group. He knew her intent without the need for verbalisation. He knew her better than she knew herself.

"It's getting late and you will be travelling for quite a distance before you reach the Church. You are welcome to stay the night if you would have an empty ward upstairs you can use."

Daryl caught Rick's wary glance and the way in which he inventoried the group. Carol who was sitting drowsily in the wheelchair, her face still too pale for comfort. Beth with her cut up face and her shaking lower lip. They wouldn't get far tonight.

"Thank you for offering. I think it would be best for us to stay. We'll set off at sunrise tomorrow morning," Rick finally agreed, sighing audibly at the idea of a bed.

Daryl finally lowered his crossbow, turning to walk back up the ward. Beth was in front of him, walking quickly towards the staircase. The group made their way up to the fourth floor slowly, their feet dragging. Daryl and Rick slung Carol between their bodies to help hoist her up the flight of steps.

"It's good to see you again, Pookie," Carol smiled weakly against Daryl's shoulder. He allowed himself to smile, not from her greeting but from the knowledge that both Carol and Beth were now safe.

"You too, old lady. See you've been getting yerself into some mischief," he replied, enjoying the tinkling laugh it produced. He loved Carol. He had known that for a while now. She was his family, and he knew that if he lost them both he could no longer keep going.

They reached the ward, Rick wasting no time in clearing the first few isolation rooms and quickly giving the all clear for the rest of them to move in. Daryl helped Carol get settled in one of the rooms, fetching her water and blankets from the cupboard, trying to politely escape her attempts at small talk. He didn't want to stand around chatting about the weather. He wanted - no, needed - to find Beth.

He finally made his excuses and headed to the corridor, searching her out. He could still smell her, her vanilla shampoo and strawberry body wash filling his nose with her familiar and sweet aroma.

He hadn't smelt her sweetness in too long. He missed catching sight of her tying up her hair in tiny braids. Missed her sitting behind that piano, her voice so delicate and soothing. Missed the sensation of her weight in his arms. Missed her tinkling laugh filling his ears. He had missed her for so long.

The hunter and the tracker inside of him must have helped his search as he walked into the next isolation room, the lighting dim from the thick curtains drawn over the single window next to the bed.

And I will stumble and fall

I'm still learning to love

Just starting to crawl

Beth sat, perched like a baby bird, on the seat next to the hospital bed. She moment she sensed Daryl's presence she stood up, advancing towards him before stopping in her tracks, completely unsure.

"Daryl."

Her name was on her lips, and it was the sweetest thing he had ever heard. He started to say something, anything, but his larynx clenched and he knew he was on the verge of tears. He didn't want to open his mouth lest a river of sobs escaped. He didn't want to waste this time with his own stupid tears .

Beth gazed hopefully up at him, anxious of what to do. The last time she had seen him was that night, across the table. There were a million things she had wanted to say to him, to ask of him, but their time had been stolen away.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she whispered into the dark room, her voice thick with emotion.

Silence.

"I wanted to believe that you were looking for me. It's the only thing that kept me sane in here. I knew you'd find me. I'm so happy that you did."

A series of odd sounds coming from Daryl confirmed Beth's suspicions that he was attempting to control his emotions before speaking.

He took two steps forward, the sound of his boots on the linoleum floor like claps of thunder in the echoing room. He was now directly in front of her, his furrowed brow clearly visible. There was a lock of hair that had fallen over one eye that Beth ached to reach out and sweep back, but she stopped herself.

Now that her angelic face was finally in focus Daryl saw the scars that intersected her porcelin skin. Angry red lines that were so perfectly juxtaposed to the innocence of her complexion. Hell against heaven.

"Who did this to you?"

His hand reached for her face, a thumb absentmindedly tracing the path of the scar that was slashed down her left cheek. She flinched away in pain, her hand automatically reaching up to bat his out of the way. Her hand wrapped around his wrist.

"It doesn't matter," she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"The hell it doesn't," he growled, overcome with rage at the idea of anybody hurting this girl.

"Daryl, stop. It doesn't matter," she insisted, squeezing his wrist almost painfully hard. His mind instantly flew to the thousands of possibilities of other crimes that had been inflicted upon her by the people in this hospital. If someone could cut her like this, what else were they capable of? What else had they done?

"What have they done to you?" His question was met with a half-assed shrug as she battled to keep her eyes focussed on the ground near his feet.

"Beth, listen to me. Did someone hurt you? Someone at the hospital?" He pulled his arm from her grasp and grabbed her face between his hands, forcing her to make eye contact with him. The unspoken question hung between them like a silvery spider web. Did someone touch you? Daryl already knew that if the answer to any of the questions was yes, he would promptly rip apart the offender.

"No. I mean, yes, my face I suppose, but I'm fine. I've been okay," she smiled sadly.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

Anywhere I would've followed you

Say something, I'm giving up on you

"I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. I tried, Beth. Every day I tried to find you. I felt sick not knowin' what was gettin' done to you. What you were feelin' all by yourself," his voice was definitely shaking by now, his eyes focussed only on the permanent scars inflicted upon her beautiful face. Scars that looked just as angry as the ones etched into his back.

"Daryl, stop. You don't have to be sorry. I'm safe. I'm here. We're here."

And suddenly her arms were around him again and he swore he was home. He wasted no time in feigning awkardness, as though he had ever believed he belonged in anyone else's embrace. Beth was so warm and alive and real, a concept which Daryl had been struggling to accept since he had last seen her face. Her arms squeezed his torso tight, almost uncomfortably so, but the pressure served only as a reminder that she was indeed safe again.

"So much stuff I didn't say, Beth... all of the things... but I didn't get to... they took you... I didn't think I'd ever..." the occasional sob interrupted his flurry of whispered words into her ear as his arms hugged her back just as hard.

"I know, I know," she hushed him gently, burrowing her head into the crook of his shoulder, riding out the storm.

"I didn't tell you and I- I thought you died not knowin-... I've been so stupid, Beth. S-so stupid. The world's fucked and I never even had the balls to say- what I'm tryna..."

She pulled back from his crushing embrace just long enough to frame his face with her soft warm hands, shaking a bit of sense back into him.

"Hey, hey, I'm here now. You found me, the hard part is over," she smiled softly up at him, the big tough redneck that never cried.

"All these months I been kickin' myself. That night you were taken, you asked me what changed my mind. It was you. You did it. I ain't never- I haven't ever said-" his tongue and teeth were having a tough time of articulating the words he physically ached to scream into the quiet room. I miss you. I need you. I love you.

"Daryl, I know." Her voice was soft and musical like bells.

"You know?" he sniffed a little.

"I love you, too. So much that it hurts,"

"Oh," was all he managed to produce. Looking back, it seemed a bit unimpressive considering the girl - no - the woman he had just confessed his love for had just admitted her own feelings after months of stress, fear, uncertainty and terror.

Her hand was softly stroking his face, her eyes peering hopefully into his as she stood before him in that dimly lit hospital room. He was in such a state of shock that he did not even register her balancing up on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss against his lips. It was chaste, really. Innocent and sweet and full of love. Daryl's eyes closed without his consent as he felt her irresistably soft lips brush against his for a brief moment.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," she whispered. He could see her cheeks colouring pink in the dim light from embarrassment or perhaps arousal. He couldn't really tell. All he knew was that he needed her lips on his again. He wasted no time in bringing his lips crashing down to hers with much more force than their last kiss, his mouth on hers with an almost bruising passion. Endless months of fear and pain and anger pouring out of his weary body as her lips moved against his.

She let out the softest of sighs when he finally withdrew his mouth from hers to allow her to breathe.

"Don't disappear again, Beth. I need you here with me," he mumbled, his hands running over her back, her arms, her neck, trying to feel as much of her as possible to reassure himself that this was real.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I'm yours now."

I'm yours now.

She pulled his lips back to hers with surprising ferocity, her hands running through his hair, pulling on the loose tendrils, their bodies pressed against eachother as their tongues battled for dominance. Daryl was ready to accept that he would never get enough of Beth Greene. The way she tasted, the way her warm soft hands felt on his face, the pure heat from her body radiating under his hands as she melted into his touch. He decided right then and there that it was a damn mistake to not have taken this girl the moment he lay eyes on her at the farm. Oh, the years they had wasted. The missed opportunities to do this that were forever lost in a hazy past.

And I will swallow my pride

You're the one that I love

And I'm saying goodbye

His hands continued to wander over her back before losing patience with the fabric under his hands that was keeping their skin from touching and pushing her shirt aside, his hands travelling up her scorching hot skin to feel more of her, closer to him, so alive and human and writhing and all of the things that are good in the world. He wasn't intending to undress the girl, he simply had to feel her heat, her warmth, her blood flowing under her skin. She sighed, no, moaned into his mouth at the sensation of his calloused hands raking over her skin. She hadn't expected to feel this way, so strong and so soon.

The sound of that sweet moan escaping her pretty little mouth did a lot of things to Daryl. He promptly decided that there wasn't enough contact between them, his hands moving down to grasp her thighs and lift her higher up his body. Her legs wrapped around his waist as if by habit, her arms peeling the material of her shirt off her torso.

Oh. He hadn't been expecting this. He was in heaven and he knew that he could happily stand here forever, holding Beth in his arms and kissing her until she was breathless, but the sight of her wriggling out of her shirt, leaving only a black bra covering her breasts which were directly in front of his eyes, made Daryl's mind go to an entirely different place. He wasted no time in placing open-mouthed kisses on this new and undiscovered region of her body, her neck and decollatage covered in nibbles and pecks as she mewled before him.

"Don't stop," she breathed, her hips unconsciously tilting back and forth as her body ached for relief from the tension and finding it against Daryl's own pelvis.

Oh shit.

His breathing was haggard, his mind torn between the feeling and vision of Beth clinging to him, wrapped around him, her hot lips on his and her hands fisting in his hair and his feelings of uncertainty at what was about to happen. He didn't want to rush this, didn't want to touch her the wrong way or hurt her again. As much as he was addicted to the woman attached to him, he feared that his calloused hands and his clumsy mouth would surely never be enough, would never be good enough for Beth.

"Beth, I don't-" he pulled back from her kiss, their foreheads resting together, their breath hot on the others face. Her lips were so swollen, her cheeks stained pink and rosy. She looked the vision of beauty.

"I don't wanna... you deserve better than me," he mumbled, filling with self consciousness now that her eyes were gazing so intensely into his.

"Don't be stupid, Daryl. You're more than I deserve. I was so scared when I was brought here, so afraid of what might happen to me. You made me strong, Daryl. When it was just you and me out there, you taught me more about myself than I've ever learned before. So don't say I deserve better, please. I've been waiting for you," she stressed the last word of her sentence, one hand softly stroking the side of his face. Her words slowly soothed his worries, reassuring him of her love, her affection.

He moved to slide her down his body, to separate the contact between them that made it so hard for him to concentrate. Her legs held fast around his hips, refusing to part with him.

"Are you sure-" he started, but he was completely unsure of what the rest of his sentence would be. Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure you won't hate me tomorrow? Are you sure it's safe?

Her sweet voice cut him off, her eyes burning into his with a ferocity that caused a slight twitch in his groin.

"I could die tomorrow. So could you. Please don't stop," she whispered, the words zapping down the length of his spine like a lightening strike.

His mouth found hers effortlessly, swallowing her moan of surprise. He crushed her against the wall of the hospital room, his hips keeping her pinned before him, allowing his hands free reign over the exposed skin of her neck and chest that had been singing to him for so long.

Her fingers were tugging at the hem of his shirt, signalling that it was an unwelcome intruder upon their moment. He leant back just far enough to pull it over his head before bringing their bodies back together, their warm skin sliding together finally. His hand reached for the clasp on her bra, ripping it open unintentionally and flinging it across the room as his lips placed wet open-mouthed kisses over her neck, her chest, the tops of her breasts.

Her fingernails dug into the skin of his shoulders as she desperatly tried to contain the whimpers that longed to escape her. For too long she'd been treated with only contempt and cruelty. The sensation of his skin against hers, his mouth on her body, his hands gripping her thighs so tightly, was completely unfamiliar and altogether erotic.

Daryl felt her hands working on his jeans, popping open the buttons and wriggling a tiny hand in just far enough to cup his considerable hardness, causing a strangled moan to escape him. Nobody had touched in that way for too long to remember, and her delicate hand running up and down his length was almost painful for him.

"Beth, you should stop... or we should slow down or something," he managed to choke out, his eyes closing with the effort of staying in control as he desperately tried to think of anything other than the feeling of her hand stroking him.

"I can't wait, please. I need you now," her voice had taken on an almost pleading quality that snapped up Daryl's attention just long enough to push her away, placing her gently on her feet and stepping her backwards until the backs of her knees hit the hospital bed. She squealed as she fell backwards, landing softly on the blankets. Daryl wasted no time in gripping the waistline of her jeans and yanking them unceremoniously down her legs that suddenly appeared to go on forever. Her underwear soon followed, and both were thrown into an unlit corner of the hospital room.

He stood before her, watching the dim lighting illuminate her naked and prone figure beneath him on the bed. Her hands soon moved to cover herself up, but he grabbed them before she had the chance and interlinked their fingers together.

"You're so beautiful. I'm so lucky," he murmured, suddenly unsure if this was a reality or a dream.

"I'm the lucky one," she whispered, gesturing for him to come closer. He complied, finally pushing off his boots and jeans before moving onto the bed to lie above her. Her legs parted naturally, his hips fitting perfectly between them as though she was a puzzle piece he hadn't realised he'd been missing.

He exhaled sharply as her movements caused the tip of his length to gently slide against the apex of her thighs, coating him with her moisture. Wetness that he had caused. He glanced into her eyes, waiting for some kind of signal that she was ready for what they were about to do. There was no going back, no way of undoing what was about to be done, and Daryl felt a surreal sense of calm at that knowledge.

She nodded ever so slightly, her teeth digging into her bottom lip moments later as he slid into her body. Finally. So right. This was the puzzle piece he had spent his entire life searching out. Her body hugged him tightly inside of her, her legs wrapped around his hips as though she were afraid he would run away. He could never run away from this. Not from the sight of her below him, her hair splayed out all over the grey hospital sheets and her swollen lips searching out his own.

He moved slowly, savouring this moment. He had known from the beginning that this was not a fuck. This was not a one-night stand, a friends-with-benefits, or anything else less than love. This was about being a part of her, not just metaphorically but physically. He could no longer tell where he ended and she began, their bodies sliding together and apart, her sighs and moans and gasps hot in his ear.

"I love you," she panted, her hips rising to meet his at a rapid rate before Daryl realised that her movements were uncontrolled for a reason.

"I love you, Beth," his mouth hot on hers as he felt her start to tighten around him, his eyes trying to squeeze shut against the torrents of pure pleasure coursing down his spine at the sensation of her rhythmic contractions. He tried in vain to keep his eyes open, he didn't want to miss this, didn't want to miss the expression on her face as she went rocketing off the edge. her head thrown back to expose the column of her smooth untouched neck, drawing him in to plant even more kisses along the overheated skin.

It was too much, she was too much. Her breath was coming in soft pants as she came down from her high, and he could no longer resist his own need for release. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent and growling her name as he let go, loving the way that she clenched around him once more, her body milking his. She was murmuring in his ear the same three words on repeat. I love you. I love you. I love you.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

Daryl's eyes shot open, his pupils dilating in the dark atmosphere of the woods.

Beside him, the campfire flickered pitifully, taking one last breath of oxygen before dying out.

He heard crickets. The screech of a crow. The scratching of a squirrel as it ran up to its home in the treetops. The wracking, painful sobs escaping Maggie as she lay on the ground a few metres away from him, her shoulders shaking, her fingers fisting into the dirt beneath her. She had collapsed there six hours earlier and nothing that anyone could do would silence her screams.

Daryl closed his eyes, desperate to escape the pain he had just reawoken to. He could almost smell her on his skin, could hear her voice in his ear, taste the sweetness of her lips, the sensation of her warm skin against his.

He raised a hand to wipe at his eyes as he felt the telltale signs of tears and smelt the overpowering scent of blood. Her blood. Still covering his hands and arms and shirt where he had cradled her body hours earlier, where pieces of Beth had splattered all over him as the bullet tore through her head.

His face felt sticky with the substance, his nose filling with the iron laced perfume of her blood. He knew he should wipe it off, should find a lake and walk into it and perhaps never resurface. He lay there on the ground, waiting for sleep or death or whichever came first. Out of the corner of his eye he could spot the shovel he had used to dig the grave. Sweating and aching and out of breath, he had dug and dug until his muscles were too fatigued to even lift the shovel one more time. Tears had poured down his face, streaking the blood stains that covered his arms.

And anywhere I would've followed you

Say something, I'm giving up on you

She didn't deserve a hole in the ground.

She didn't deserve a bullet in her head.

She didn't deserve to die without knowing.

Daryl pulled himself up silently. If Maggie heard him leave, she didn't stop him. Maybe she already knew.

"Don't 'uh-uh'. What changed your mind?"

His nervous eyes darting from her intense gaze to the table and back again, finally seeking her out, staring instead of talking because he'd never been able to express his feelings through words. Staring into her soul, willing her to see the message he was incapable of articulating. Willing her to see all of the words he had never spoken to anyone before.

"Oh."

His crossbow remained on the forest floor, laying next to the mound of freshly overturned earth. It belonged to someone else now.

He disappeared between the trees and into the blackness of the night, the once-white angel wings now stained in red, disappearing from view until he was gone.

And I will swallow my pride

You're the one that I love

And I'm saying goodbye

"You're going to miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon." - Beth Greene

So did any of you get as emotional as I did writing this! Gah I'm so upset that Bethyl will never legitimately happen now :( Grrrrrrr.

Please review and let me know what you think! Lara xox