Ok everybody...this is just a little one shot (that might end up being a two shot if you all like it) that I had running through my head. In this one, Beth is with the Atlanta group before the farm...

Beth watched from her perch on the RV steps as the scene played out in front of her. She had a smile as she watched Andrea and Amy run toward each other and hug tightly, so thankful to see each other again. She watched as Morales hugged his wife and kids, T-Dog embraced Jacqui and Dale embraced Glenn. She was so thankful that her friends, these people that she had come to trust over the past few weeks, were back safe. She noticed that Merle was not with them, but assumed that he was still in the truck, trying to sneak a quick fix. She looked up when she heard Shane ask Morales how they got out, her ears perking when she heard him reply "New guy, got us out. Hey, helicopter boy, come and say Hi"

The next thing she knew, she saw Carl take off, screaming "Dad" toward the "helicopter boy" who was actually dressed more like a cop than anything else. She looked at Lori for a moment, seeing the look of shock and horror on her face. She knew from her late night talks with the woman that she thought her husband….Rick she thought his name was….was dead…..Shane had told her he was dead. But this man now hugging Carl was most certainly not dead. And as for Shane, his look was a mixture of happiness and sadness, which would probably confuse most people….but Beth Greene, was not most people and knew things that people didn't think she knew.

As she watched the beautiful reunion, her mind wandered to her family. Would she ever see them again? She knew they had to be alive, but would she ever make it back to the farm? She had asked Shane a few times if they could head toward her farm, just to see. But he was set on staying where they were, and then maybe heading to Fort Benning. The last time she had asked, which was just two days ago, she ended up crying down by the quarry. She only stopped when she heard a twig snap behind her. When she twisted around, she saw Daryl Dixon standing there, watching her, his eyes narrowed at her as they ran across her body, seeming to look for what caused her emotional state.

"Ya a'ight?" he asked, his thick southern accent sending shivers down her spine. She nodded and wiped her eyes, then flashed him a small smile.

"Yeah, it's just Shane….well he is such….he's such an….." she started, trying to say the word that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Such an ass?" Daryl stated with a grunt, causing Beth to giggle just a little as she wiped her eyes one more time.

"Yeah, that" she added as she turned back to look out at the quarry again.

"He do somthin' to hurt ya?" His voice behind her asked, in a low growl. If Beth had not been so close to him, she would have missed it. She turned back to look at him again, this time seeing a look of anger and worry in his eyes.

"No, not really" she said as she slid herself over a little bit, making more room on the log she was sitting on, her silent invitation to have him take a seat beside her.

"Then why are ya cryin?" he asked as he moved around and sat down, his crossbow falling in between his legs. She wondered for a second if he went everywhere with it cuz she never remembered a time since Daryl and his brother joined the group that he didn't have it.

"I want to go home, to my family. I tried to convince Shane to take us by there, just so I could see. But he refuses and as you know, its Shane's way or no way" she grumbled out the last part. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, really she didn't. When Glenn and T-Dog had found her on the side of the road, fighting with a few walkers, the rest of the group took her in. Got her fed, and cleaned her up. She would always be eternally grateful to them, but she had to know if her family was ok.

"Where's ya home?" he asked her, his head turning toward her as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his front shirt pocket.

"It's on the outskirts of Senoia. If we are as close to Atlanta as it looks, it's about an hour or so away. I just want to find out if my family is ok. If they survived" she said sadly as a tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away in a hurry and sucked in some air to breathe out.

"How'd you get separated from 'em?" he asked, a curious tone in his voice. She realized that he probably never had heard the story. Him and his brother stayed away from the rest of the group for the most part. She figured they had their reasons, maybe just untrusting of people.

"I had been in Atlanta for a few days checking out colleges when it first broke out. The last time I spoke to my Dad, he said they were staying at the farm and he wanted me to get home as soon as I could. He wanted to send my brother Shawn after me, but I told him that I could get home. I had no idea how bad it actually was out here, or what really was going on. I finally got out of Atlanta, which I was only able to do because I started going down the wrong lane of the highway. But I only made it a little bit outside of Atlanta when I broke down. Bessie was not the most reliable of vehicles and"….

"Bessie….ya named ya car Bessie?" he asked, an incredulous look on his face.

"Bessie was a truck, thank you very much" she stated as she folded her arms across her chest and nodded toward him. His lips turned up into a small smirk and then he motioned for her to continue.

"So I packed what I could into my backpack, said goodbye to Bessie" Beth didn't miss the snort from the redneck beside her "and started down the road. I only got about a mile away from my car when I was surrounded by three of those walkers. I didn't know how to fight them, how to kill them. Thank god that T-Dog and Glenn drove by right then and saved me. And the rest is history" she said with a small chuckle, then her face turned sad again.

"I just have to know they are safe. I appreciate everything everybody has done for me here, but I need to get home to them. I have too. I guess if Shane won't take us, than I will just have to leave" she stated, trying to make her voice sound as firm and as strong as she could. Even though the thought of leaving by herself was terrifying.

"Can't go leavin' by yourself girl" he stated as he looked at her. She wondered what he saw when he looked at her like that. Probably the same thing that everybody else saw, weak.

"Nobody can stop me from going" she stated, her tone starting to sound angry. She was not a prisoner here, she could leave if she dang well wanted too.

"Not what I meant girl. I just meant that you can't go alone. I will take ya…well I mean me and ma brother will. We was thinkin' about leavin' anyway" he stated gruffly as he finished his cigarette and smashed it into the ground by his foot, then started rubbing his neck with his hand as Beth watched the tips of his ears turn red.

"You mean it?" she asked softly as she turned fully to face him, the excitement clear in her eyes and in her voice. Yes, she was not sure about leaving with the Dixon brothers, but she knew, knew in her heart that Daryl would never hurt her, or let anybody else hurt her either. She didn't know why she knew this, considering this was the first time she had ever really talked to him, but she knew.

"Wouldn'ta said it if I didn't" he mumbled as he pulled his thumb to his mouth and started chewing on the skin around it.

"Thank you so much Daryl" Beth squealed as she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. When he tensed up under her, she removed her arms like she was burned.

"Sorry Daryl, I get overly excited sometimes, won't happen again" she mumbled, a small smile on her face. He looked at her for a second and saw him physically release a puff of air.

"A'ight, get now girl. I will talk to my brother and let ya know when we leave." He said gruffly as he motioned for her to go on back up to the camp. She smiled at him and stood up, only stopping when she felt his hand on her arm. "And don't leave camp without some kinda protection again, ya hear? Take this!" he growled as he shoved a small knife into her hand. She looked down at it and then back into his eyes. 'my god his eyes are beautiful' she thought to herself as she smiled again at him.

"Thank you Daryl." She whispered sweetly as she leaned in and kissed his cheek quickly, knowing he would tense again, then took off toward the RV.

She remembered she slept peacefully for the first time that night.

She was brought out of her daydream when she heard the cop…..Rick….mention Merle. Her eyes went wide when she heard him state that they left him chained to a roof in Atlanta. Her thoughts instantly going to the redneck that had comforted her the other night. Daryl was going to go thru the roof when he heard about this. She knew he would want to go after him, save his brother. And she would go with him, willingly….if he wanted her too!