A/N: First story ever. Be gentle. Some things to note - this took me a month to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to speed up now but I'm still slow. Also, I am doing this crazy thing where I have an included soundtrack to go along with the story so at the top of every chapter, there will be a song or two and an asterisk system. If you listen to the song while you read that particular part, it makes it so much better! Let me know what you guys think.
*Thomas Newman - Any Other Name

For as long as he could remember, Daryl was always taking care of himself. No one to rely on and nobody to care. He hadn't realized how damning that was until he'd ended up stuck with Rick's group. Things had changed so much since then. Even though he had found a family in them, something else was always missing, something more. That missing piece didn't materialize until after the prison fell, and he once again found himself stuck. He cared about Beth, but he couldn't help feeling more like a bodyguard at first. In a matter of weeks, she had gone from merely being his responsibility to becoming his entire world.

He couldn't imagine a future without her now. Well, realistically, he could, but it was so bleak he didn't care to think about it. It all happened so fast. And it was then that he discovered she was the missing piece all along. She moved him beyond comprehension and something tugged at him inside that he couldn't quite put his finger on; they just clicked. He'd never felt anything like it before. All he knew was that, suddenly, he couldn't stand to be more than 10 feet away from Beth. And for the first time in his life, Daryl felt safe; for the first time, he was truly happy. She gave his life meaning and purpose. Without her, he was a drifter inside himself, lost in the throes of his own head.

Daryl's memories got blurry after that, particularly after the night Beth was taken. He recalled being numb all the way down to his bones. Defeated and despondent, he could've been in ultimate peril and he wouldn't have given a shit. It was more a matter of luck that his survival instinct had kicked in when Joe's group of douchebags came along. He was surprised when he found out they were tracking Rick and quickly moved to defend the man who had become like a brother to him. That confrontation hadn't gone over smoothly, and he had come out with his fair share of physical reminders. A black eye, several cuts and scrapes, and more bruises than he could count on one hand. Some stung a bit, but he hardly noticed them. Daryl was familiar with bodily injury; his violent childhood saw to that and he'd had many years of practice shutting out the pain. His inner pain, however, was a great deal harder to ignore. The two were on opposite sides of the suffering scale. The hurt he felt towards the situation with Rick and Joe's men, what almost happened to Carl, and Beth's kidnapping was more excruciating than any flesh wound.

Then there was Terminus. Daryl never doubted for a second they would make it out of there, not since they were all mostly back together. The people there relied on tricks and scare tactics to get the results they wanted. He could tell they didn't know how to fight hand to hand. Coming together as a group made overpowering Terminus easy. They'd run into Carol and Tyreese on the way out, making for a very emotional reunion with baby Judith. Now here they were, on the road to Washington D.C.

"Still think this is nuts," Daryl stated bluntly, kicking some rocks in his path as they walked.

After a discussion weighing both sides of the matter, Rick had decided they would join Abraham on his mission. Daryl was heartbroken at the thought of leaving Beth behind unaccounted for, but Rick was right; she could be anywhere. The group was set on going to Washington D.C. The mission: to save the world. The savior: a nerdy scientist with a mullet aptly named Eugene. Daryl knew better. He liked the guy well enough. Eugene had been instrumental in helping them at Terminus after all; but there was something about his story that Daryl had trouble swallowing. After what they learned at the CDC, it didn't seem entirely plausible. He suspected Rick had similar thoughts, but for the life of him didn't know why he was being quiet about it.

"What makes you say that?" Rick was striding along beside Daryl, his hand resting on the Colt Python nestled in his holster. The two of them had taken point, staying ahead of the group and Rick was prepared to spring into action at any moment.

Likewise, Daryl had his Horton pulled in front of him while keeping an eye out for walkers. "Just look at him. Guy looks like a World of Warcraft junkie who just walked outta his mom's basement when this happened." He paused to let Rick consider the thought. "You 'spect me to believe he's some scientist? Gonna save the world? Horseshit. I know the truth. We both do."

"I heard that," Eugene called out from somewhere in the middle of the group.

Daryl peered over his shoulder to see Eugene making his way up to the front. Daryl groaned at the thought of interacting with him again. Meanwhile, Rick had raised his eyebrows in slight amusement. He knew Daryl could only tolerate small doses of the man at a time. Eugene could be downright annoying without even trying.

Eugene sauntered up beside Daryl, matching his pace and gazing ahead. His face maintained the same blank expression they were all accustomed to seeing now. "I admire your testicular fortitude," he stated plainly, "but we're just gonna have to agree to disagree on this. I never could get into WoW."

Daryl shot Rick a pleading look, hoping to be saved from this awkward situation. Rick simply smiled, continuing to survey the surrounding area. Daryl flashed him a more hardened look.

"You might not want to do this right now, Eugene. It's probably best that you leave Daryl be." Rick said, giving in. "Now I'm not sayin' you have to, but if you get shot in the leg with an arrow, just remember that I warned you."

"I've already told your friend," Eugene began again, ignoring Rick completely and Daryl fought the urge to gag Eugene with his bandana, "I have strategically fashioned my hair in this manner as a defense tactic. If those people back there thought I was important, they would have used me to get protection and better shelter from the government officials. And in regards to the other part of your theory, I have no explanation for that. It just comes with the territory comrade."

Daryl grunted in response, enduring a few more painful minutes of one sided conversation before Eugene finally drifted back into the group. Daryl was eager to find vehicles soon so the chances of being forced to listen to Eugene would decrease dramatically. If he was lucky, maybe he'd happen upon a motorcycle. At least then he would have a chance to collect his thoughts instead of dealing with long-winded commentary from the one man geek squad; or Maggie. That was one discussion he wasn't sure he was ready to have.

..

Day had turned to night with Judith becoming increasingly more agitated. They found a spot not far from the road to set up camp until morning. Sasha had started a small fire and everyone was talking quietly amongst themselves. Everyone but Daryl, sitting against a tree, once again lost in his own mind. He kept replaying that night over in his head. He considered all the ways he could've done it differently. He thought about the group of walkers he practically invited in. Idiot. One moment of vulnerability and everything fell apart. It was unlike him not to be on guard, but Daryl had been shaken in his impulse decision to express his feelings to Beth. He wasn't going to apologize for that, even though it had ended in Beth being taken by an unknown assailant. He thought about how he should have reacted. But mostly, he thought about the days leading up to it. Daryl couldn't ever remember being that happy. He had been prepared to live there in that house with Beth for as long as he could get away with it. She'd taught him that he didn't have to just survive even if the world had gone to hell, and she had been the only thing that made sense to him then. He wasn't sure what he was feeling towards her, then or now, and it was driving him crazy.

Scanning the group, Daryl spotted Rick and Maggie in thoughtful conversation and couldn't help but wonder if Beth had been mentioned. As if to answer his question, Maggie glanced over at him and nodded at Rick. She said one last thing to Rick before getting up and walking over to where Daryl had busied himself testing the strength of his remaining bolts. She sat down beside him, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

They sat in silence for a moment before Maggie finally looked at him. "I was talking to Rick. Got to thinkin' about Beth. I told him I wish I knew what happened to her. He said I should come talk to you. He said you knew." Maggie paused, her lip trembling. "I need to know what happened, Daryl." Her eyes began to mist at the thought.

Daryl could feel his chest tighten but he figured this was coming sooner or later. Staring firmly at the ground, he searched for the right words to say.

"After everything went down back at the prison, I ran across her. She was lookin' for the kids. We got out and we just kept goin'." He paused as his head began to swim in recollection. Running through the woods with Beth, how distanced he'd been from her, and her quest for a drink that he didn't understand until he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It was like that for awhile, until she hurt her ankle..." Daryl's shoulders tensed as he remembered the panic he felt when Beth stepped on the trap. They'd been together for weeks and he suddenly felt more protective of her than he should've been. It was the thought of losing her that really got him. They'd grown close and when she was first learning the crossbow, he'd been in her personal space frequently, helping her hold it properly and take aim. He liked it. He'd had several conversations with her too and he found that he enjoyed talking to her; her presence was somehow comforting.

They were open with each other; he told her his short-lived dream of being an astronaut for two whole days and she told him how she'd wanted to be a cosmetologist when she was 13. That was the night Beth joked about getting her hands on his hair as soon as she found a pair of scissors. Daryl made it clear he'd be kicking and screaming the entire time. She let him know she was kidding, that she liked his hair either way, but she never stopped reminding him how terrified he looked at the thought of her cutting it.

"We stopped at some funeral parlor. " Daryl continued. "We were gonna stay there until she was good to walk again. Ended up getting a welcome wagon of walkers. I told Beth to get out while I handled 'em." He couldn't get Beth's last words to him out of his head. I'm not gonna leave you. She hadn't left. Someone had taken her from him.

"When I made it out and went up to meet her by the road, her stuff was all over the ground. That's when I saw this car speedin' off and I knew they had her." Daryl fought to control his voice but he couldn't keep his expression from giving him away. It always did every time. That familiar wrinkled brow and pained look washed over his face and he knew he couldn't meet Maggie's eyes if he tried.

"I ran after it but I couldn't keep up…I just couldn't keep up." He squeezed his eyes tightly shut trying to maintain composure. More than anything, he blamed himself. Beth should have been there with them but she wasn't, and it was his fault.

He'd chased that damn car for hours, finally losing the trail at the tracks. He was helpless; that killed him the most. Sitting there on the ground, one word resonated over the others in his head. Gone. Daryl repeated it to himself over and over. Beth was gone. Her words haunted him too, a ghost of moments passed. I'll be gone someday…you're gonna be the last man standing. She didn't know how right she'd been. His heart was ripped from his chest, taken along with Beth, and left with a hollow space.

When Daryl opened his eyes again, he noticed Maggie was still silent. He forced his gaze to move towards her, fearing the inevitable waterworks. Instead, she was watching him strangely, like she was analyzing him. He quickly went back to fiddling with his bolts and waited for what felt like decades before Maggie spoke.

"How long has it been like this?" She inquired earnestly.

"Like what?" Daryl responded, both confused and cautious, not wanting to give anything away.

"You bein' in love with my sister."

Daryl froze, feeling as if the air had escaped his lungs. She knew. He shifted uncomfortably and flipped his defense switch on. "I ain't."

"Don't lie to me. I was born on a day, but it sure wasn't yesterday."

*He could feel Maggie's prying eyes penetrating his skull, making him wish he could melt into the bark against his back. He'd made every conscious effort to keep what he was feeling to himself yet somehow she had cracked the mystery code within minutes. She knew what he, up until that point, couldn't identify. His mind raced a thousand miles per hour as the realization began to sink in. In love. He was in love. All he knew about it was what he saw on movies and television or what he read in books. Daryl didn't know what it felt like because he had never been in love. He'd had various sexual trysts thanks to the combination of Merle and booze, but one night stands were the extent of his personal dealings with the opposite sex. He never removed his shirt and always left immediately after the deed. Normally, he would close his eyes or fuck the girl doggy style so he wouldn't have to see her looking back at him; that was the type of intimacy he didn't want or need from them. This was all so new to him.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," Maggie smiled slightly, "just know that I know, and I get it."

Daryl nodded stiffly, grateful that she wasn't going to press the issue. Still, if he was that transparent, he wondered how many of the others knew too. Rick? Did he know? Somehow, this only served to increase his fear for Beth, her whereabouts, and condition. He was a mess as it was; being aware he was head over heels for the girl made it that much worse.

"Wherever she is, she's okay. I know it." Maggie must have sensed his feelings again. "Remember, us Greene girls come from strong stock. She's not gone as long as you keep her with you, up here." She said, tapping a finger against her temple. Her words were somewhat soothing, easing the ebb and flow of Daryl's emotional state.

Maggie smiled weakly, but it quickly faded. "Do you know who took her?"

"Not sure. I never saw 'em. But the whole place was spic n' span. Someone was staying there, but it looked like they left. I think maybe it was them."

She gave him a look of helplessness before moving to stand. "Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. Rick said we'll need to be gettin' back on the road bright and early. But I'm here when you're ready to talk about it." She paused, waiting for a response. Daryl just nodded again and Maggie, apparently satisfied, turned and walked back towards Glenn.

Meanwhile, Daryl let the weight of her words hit him like a ton of bricks. Beth had never left his mind, not once, since that night. He wouldn't sleep. He couldn't. Every moment spent sitting there, attempting to assign some version of sense to this, was spent in agony; in anger and guilt and pain. Anger at the person who took her and anger with himself. He missed her, so much. He hoped she was fine and that, somewhere out there, she missed him too. But what if she wasn't fine? She might be hurt. She might be suffering. That bastard could be doing awful things to her right now. He desperately wanted to do something, anything. But what could he do? Daryl leaned his head back and allowed his eyes to close. He wouldn't sleep, but he could see her face clearly behind the black of his lids. It was the only comfort he could find in a sea of mental anguish.