Daryl saw nothing but red.

He was certain, there hasn't been one point in his entire life, that he has been as pissed off as he is now. Even at his worthless brother. Or at his heartless father. Or at anything his good for nothing mama ever did. His brother got himself locked up. His damn daddy and his mama both killed their selves. It was like the trash took itself out. He didn't have to worry about getting his hands dirty.

This time he did.

Daryl Dixon was speeding down the road in his truck and he was headed out for blood. He was going to do more than just hurt somebody, he was planning on killing. And, there is only one person he would do that for. Without any thought or hesitation.

When it came to her, there isn't anything that he wouldn't do. When it came to her, there were no limits on how far he'd go to keep her from danger. When it came to her, he wouldn't hesitate to take out anyone who tried to cause her harm or put his life on the line trying to stop them.

When it came to Beth Greene, he would walk through hell and back to make sure that she was safe. To hell with him and everybody else. It was all about her. It always has been and as long as Daryl Dixon was breathing and walking this earth, it always would be.

Earlier -

Daryl Dixon couldn't be more miserable. To put it mildly, he had an all around shit day. He was up most of the night with a migraine from hell. He woke up late this morning and didn't make it to work on time therefore getting his ass chewed out by his boss. Actually, work in general had been hell. No sooner than it was time to clock out, he went straight to his motorcycle ready to haul ass home.

Starting the engine, he reached in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.

"Damnit," he thought to himself when he realized he was out. "Fucking great."

Oh well, he was planning on stopping to get a 12 pack of Budweiser anyways. He was ready to forget this entire day by going home to sit on his ass and throw a few cold ones back. So, he hauled ass out of the parking lot and headed to the gas station down the street.

As he pulled into the parking lot, Daryl couldn't help but wonder if this day could get any worse. And, life being the dick that it is, answered that question.

As soon as he got off of his bike, he looked up just in time to see Beth Greene walking down the street with him. Jimmy McCune. What the hell she saw in him was beyond Daryl. Fuck it. It's her damn life, she's free to do whatever she wanted with it and spend time with whomever the hell she wanted. Even if that wasn't Daryl Dixon... anymore.

She used to spend all of her free time with Daryl! They were best friends, almost becoming something more he had thought. Then, that pretty boy showed up.

But, no surprise to Daryl that she would rather spend time with someone like Jimmy instead of him. He was just some dumbass redneck and she was... well, perfect.

"It's like a damn romance novel," Daryl said with a grunt, nearly throwing his helmet down on his bike and then walking, or more like storming, into the gas station.

He made it as quick as possible. He walked straight to the freezer grabbing his beer. He walked to the counter and with a grunt said, "pack of Molboro reds, 100's."

After the clerk rang up his total, he threw down the money and walked out not giving a damn about his change.

Once getting home, he quickly made him something to eat. Nothing big. Just a couple of sandwiches and some chips to go along with them. He didn't want to deal with an entire dinner and having to clean up a mess afterwards. He just wanted something in his stomach so he could sit his ass down on his couch, watch some damn tv and drink.

He was working on his third beer when he heard his cell phone vibrating on the coffee table in front of him. It was face down so he couldn't see who it was. And, he didn't care so he let it ring.

And, it just wouldn't stop. So, with a sigh of annoyance, he reached over to pick his phone up to see who the hell it was.

Blue Eyes it said with a kiss emoji by it. It was the name she had programmed into his phone when he first got it since that was his nickname for her. He almost pushed the ignore button but he thought better of it. He might have had a shitty day and he might have got annoyed when he saw her with jimmy. But, he couldn't just ignore her. Not his blue eyes.

Well, technically she wasn't HIS blue eyes but he still couldn't ignore her.

"Hello," he said sharply once he answered.

"D-D-Daryl."

He went from a slouched position to sitting straight as an arrow at the sound of her crying.

"Beth? Are you okay?"

There was silence on the phone.

"Blue eyes?"

"Can, can I come and stay with you tonight?" She asked between sobs.

He didn't have to think about his answer.

"Of course. Come on over. Ya know you never have to ask."

Silence again. He thought he heard something in the background but he wasn't quite sure.

She finally spoke again, this time in a whisper.

"I hate to ask but, do you think you could come get me?"

He instantly got up, grabbing the keys to his truck.

"Of course. But, Beth, what's wrong? Why are ya crying? Why are ya whisperin'?"

"I don't want Jimmy to hear me."

Daryl's free hand instantly balled into a fist. He heard noise in the background more clearly that time.

"BETH?! Where the fuck are you?!" The voice was muffled but Daryl could still make out what the noise was.

Jimmy.

"Beth, I'm on my way now. But, I need you to tell me what happened."

Daryl slammed the front door shut and sprinted to his truck, quickly jumping in and starting it. He wasn't wasting any time so he threw his truck into drive, speeding out of his driveway and towards Beth's house.

"He got so angry at me. I, I, I just told him no but he didn't listen."

Daryl pressed harder on the accelerator. His blood going cold.

"What the fuck did he do to you, girl?" He growled.

"We were watching a movie. Afterwards, I was just gonna walk him to the door so he could leave," she whispered. She was so quiet Daryl struggled to hear her.

"I was fine giving him a hug. Ya know me. I like hugs. But, then he kissed me. I stepped back and told him goodnight. He, he, said he wasn't ready to leave because he was having such a good time and tried to kiss me again. I pushed him off and told him I was going to bed. When I reached passed him to open the door, he grabbed my arm and forced me backwards and trapped me against the wall."

Daryl's vision was almost going blurry he was so pissed.

"I told him to get off me, Daryl! I tried to push him off! But, he didn't listen and he's so much bigger than me. So, he, he, he..."

"What did he do, Beth?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"He hit me."

Daryl didn't need to hear anymore.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm in my bathroom."

"You stay the fuck there and don't you move. I'm on my..."

And, before he could finish his sentence, he heard a crash, Beth scream and then the line went dead.

Daryl Dixon once told her that he wasn't afraid of anything. But, he was wrong. Damnit, he was wrong. He was scared of one thing and one thing alone.

Losing her.

Rather she realized it or not, she was the best damn thing to ever happen to him. It didn't matter if they had anything more between them than friendship. She brought so much love and happiness into his world when she entered it. She makes him laugh. She makes him want to be a better man. More than a dumbass redneck and more than any Dixon was ever worth. And, he'd be damn if he lost her.

Finally, after what took only 10 minutes but felt like an enternity, he pulled into Beth's driveway. He through his truck in park and without turning off the ignition, took off in a sprint to her front door. But, not before he grabbed the pistol he had laying on the seat beside him.

He could hear Beth's screams from outside. As soon as he busted through her front door he ran upstairs to her bathroom.

She was in the floor with jimmy on top of her. She was crying. She was screaming. She was trying her damndest to get him off of her. But, every time she moved her arms to try and hit him, he would just grab ahold of them and pin them back down. He was sitting on her legs so she couldn't move them.

"Shut the hell up and stop fucking moving," he said through gritted teeth.

"Please, Jimmy. Just stop! Get off of me!" She pleaded.

"Not until I get what I want. You invited me over here. YOU teased me! YOU led me on! Now, you're going to give me what I have been wanting all damn night to get."

"No! No, I didn't! I never led you on! Please, just stop!"

Jimmy placed a hand over her mouth and reached his other hand down to try and unbutton her pants.

"Unless ya want me to blow ya brains all over this goddamn bathroom, ya better get the fuck off of her," Daryl growled, holding the gun to Jimmy's temple.

Beth and Jimmy both froze. Him in fear and her in relief at the sight of him.

Jimmy slowly raised both of his hands but remained seated on Beth's legs.

"Easy, man. Nothin' goin' on here that the pretty lady didn't want to happen."

"Shut the fuck up!" Daryl roared, making Jimmy jump. "I told you to get the fuck off of her."

Jimmy, hands still raised, slowly stood up. His feet on either side of Beth's legs. As soon as she could, she pulled her legs through, scooting back towards the bathroom counter, pulling her legs to her chest.

Daryl still held the gun to Jimmy's temple but made eye contact with Beth.

"Come 'ere, Blue Eyes," he spoke gently to her.

She didn't hesitate. She jumped up and ran into the open arm Daryl held out for her.

He gently pushed Beth behind him, making sure the prick couldn't get to her if he tried.

"On ya knees," Daryl told Jimmy.

"I said, on ya knees, ya sumofabitch."

Jimmy listened and slowly got on his knees, not wanting to push Daryl any further.

Daryl reached behind him to hand Beth his gun. Once she had a hold of it, he walked to the other side so he could see Jimmy's face.

Beth watched cautiously waiting to see what Daryl would do. When a smirk crossed his face, she got nervous.

Placing his hands on his knees and bending over so he was eye to eye with Jimmy he said, "by hurting her, by putting your fucking hands on her," he then grabbed jimmy by the collar and jerked him up to slam him against the wall.

"Ya just made the biggest fuckin' mistake of ya life, boy."

Then, Daryl punched him with every ounce of strength he had.

Blood squirted out of Jimmy's nose and he let out a sound of unbearable pain and dropped back to the floor.

Daryl didn't let up. He threw one punch after another. He wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop.

He thought about how angry he was when he saw Beth with him earlier today.

He thought about hearing her cry on the phone.

He thought about her voice when asking if she could stay at his place then damn near begging him to come get her.

He thought about the way she sounded so scared telling him what Jimmy did to her.

He thought about when he got to her house and hearing her screams.

He thought about seeing him on top of her as she fought to get him off of her.

Which every thought he had, he threw another punch with even more force behind it.

"DARYL! STOP! PLEASE, DARYL!"

He heard her screaming his name and asking him to stop, but he just couldn't. He was so angry.

But, right before he brought his fist down to deliver another blow to the scumbag beneath him, she finally got his attention.

"Daryl, please, you're scaring me!"

He froze. Fist right above Jimmy's now blood covered face. He was out cold and you could barely tell he was breathing. He still had his shirt clenched in his other hand. Without moving, he glanced up at her.

She had put the gun on the floor. She had both of her arms wrapped around her body and she was shaking as if she was cold.

He got off jimmy and even though he was covered in the punk's blood, he took her in his arms and she gladly welcomed the embrace.

She wrapped her arms around his waist. He had one arm wrapped around her shoulders and used his other to hold her head to his chest.

He quickly kissed her head while thanking God, Buddha, the universe or whatever out there listening, that she was now safe.

He pulled back holding her head in his hands and looking her in her eyes.

"You came! You came and saved me... again!" She cried.

Daryl used the pad of his thumbs to wipe her quickly falling tears away.

"I will always come when ya need me. I'll always come and save you! I'll always do whatever, whenever ya need me. For you, I will do anything."

He wrapped her back in his arms and held her. He didn't want to let her go. He needed to hold her for his own sanity as much as she needed him to hold her.

Once Beth finally calmed down, he released her so he could call Rick, who showed up not even 10 minutes after receiving the call. What seemed like hours of questioning, Jimmy was taken to the hospital. Beth was reassured that once he was released, he would be taken to the station to be booked. And, once the police and ambulance all cleared out, it was finally just Daryl and Beth.

She was sitting on her front porch steps with a blanket around her that Daryl placed over her shoulders earlier. He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said quietly. From all of the crying, her voice was hoarse at this point.

"Ya ain't gotta thank me."

"Yes, I do! You were there for me tonight, Daryl. You saved me. Lord only knows what he would've done if ya hadn't've showed up. God, I can't believe I got myself in this mess! How could I've been so stupid and..."

Daryl heard the panic in her voice start to rise and gently grabbed her face in his hand, turning her to look at him.

"Ya need to calm down there, Beth! You ain't stupid. That motherfucker who thought he could put his hands on ya after you told him not to, is the stupid one."

"I'm just, I'm so sorry I called ya and dragged ya into this mess."

"I'm not. I'm glad ya called me."

"Ya are?"

"Yeah, I am. Because ya called me, I was the one to have the pleasure of beating the shit outta the sumofabitch."

Even after everything she had been through tonight, she still laughed.

"I don't know what I'd do without ya, Daryl Dixon."

"Good thing ya never have to find out. I'll always be here for ya, Blue Eyes."

Daryl finally relaxed a bit when he saw her smile. He was glad the nickname could still put that beautiful smile on that even more beautiful face.

They sat on her porch for a few more minutes in silence. His arm wrapped around her again and her head resting back on his shoulder.

"Daryl?"

"Mhmm?"

"Is it okay if I still stay with ya at your place tonight?"

"Ya can stay for however long ya want," he told her. "Let's go so you can get ya some rest."

"I'll be in the living room if ya need me. Try 'n get ya some rest."

He walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights. As he went to walk out of the bedroom door, he felt a tiny hand wrap around his wrist.

"Don't go," she said almost to softly.

"Would it make ya feel better if I made a palate on the floor?" He asked looking down at her.

She looked down and gently but her lip.

Once again, Daryl shook the dirty thoughts out of his head.

"Beth, what is it?" He asked, removing his wrist from her grip to place a finger under her chin to force her to look at him.

"It would make me feel better being right beside you. I, I, don't want to be alone. At all. Will you please stay with me?"

Daryl didn't say anything. He just dropped the extra blankets and pillow and lead her back to his bed.

Once she was comfortable, he got in beside her. He laid down on his back placing both hands behind his head. She took him by surprise when he felt her hand on his stomach and her head on his chest.

"Thank you, again, for everything, Daryl."

He gently placed an arm around her and held her close.

"Anything for you, Blue Eyes."

"Good night, handsome," she said on a whisper as she finally fell asleep.

It was so quiet he almost didn't hear her. But, he did and he couldn't help the smile form on his face at her compliment.

"G'night, beautiful," he said, placing one more kiss on the top of her head then drifting off to sleep himself.