So just to make some things clear before you start the chapter, I made it where Hershel only ever had Annette as a wife and she is the mother to all three of their children (Shawn, Maggie, and Beth). At the time these are the ages of the characters-

Beth- 6
Daryl- 8
Merle- 15
Maggie- 14
Shawn-17

Eight year old Daryl Dixon sat on the porch of his house in the Georgia summer heat, watching across the street as a man and a young blonde girl and an older looking brunette made trips from a moving truck into the house that had been unoccupied for over year now. Daryl would be lying if he said he wasn't a tad interested in the new neighbors, especially the small blonde girl. They lived on the edge of town, only a few houses on his street, and all of them lacking in children of his own age. Daryl was brought out of his thoughts by Merle's voice yelling from inside, at whom Daryl assumed was their mother. Will Dixon wasn't home at the time. A thing they were all grateful for. His attention was drawn back to Merle bolting out of the house, flinging the screen door open and shoving past him on the steps.

"Where ya goin?" Daryl asked as Merle stormed off into the lawn with crossbow in hand, towards the woods that surrounded the backside of there house.

"To go shoot shit, I'll be back later." Merle spat off with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Moments following the screen door creaked again, expectantly showing his Ma.

"Where did your damn brother run off to?" She grumbled as she came out onto the porch with a lit cigarette in-between her thin fingers.

"Said he was goin ta shoot shit."

Misty Dixon came and sat next to Daryl on the porch step while taking a long drag off of her smoke.

"You quit that." She lightly swatted his leg.

"I know Merle thinks he can talk like that, but you don't. You're my good boy." His mother spoke as she petted the unruly hair on his forehead back.

Despite her drinking problem and her lack of control when it came to how her husband treated them, Misty tried to be a good mother when she was coherent enough. There was good and bad days, but she tried her best to take care of them and make sure they were loved by her. She couldn't change who their father was, but she tried to make up for what he wasn't. Though Merle was at the age where he wanted the whole world to piss off, though Daryl guessed he had good reason for it. But Daryl liked to enjoyed the moments like today, when their father was gone and their mother wasn't drunk. They were too far and in between.

"New neighbors?" His mother's voice bloomed from the moment of silence that had taken place as she finished blowing the last of the smoke from her lungs, stubbing her cigarette out on the step next to her.

"Mhm just got there." Daryl said still studying the new family as they moved more boxes into the light blue home that had chips of paint peeling from it.

"Why don't ya go'n introduce yourself?"

"Why?" Daryl asked, his accent still thick in his young voice.

"Well there aint many kids around here, she looks about your age?" Misty said standing up dusting off the backside of her tattered dress.

"She's a girl though." Daryl expressed, edging offence at the idea.

Chuckling, Misty made her way to the front door.

"Yeah and in a few years, she's going to be a very pretty girl. You'll be wishing ya introduced yourself earlier on." Misty smirked at her youngest before going inside.

Daryl sat watching the young girl skip around smiling and trying to help the older man whom Daryl assumed was her father unpack. He wasn't going to go over there, it would just be embarrassing. So he just continued to sit and chuck rocks at the ground while observing. Maybe one day he would go over there, but today wouldn't be that day.

It had been about two weeks since Beth, her sister, and father had moved into their new home. It was strange being in a new place, after living on the farm for so many years. She'd cried for hours about leaving their home, along with all their animals in which she had been so fond of. It had been all she had ever known. But after her mother had left with her brother Shawn, her daddy had said that they couldn't stay at the farm anymore. At the time she was too young to understand everything that was going on really. But her father had told her that she would still see her older brother and mother; it would just be on occasion. Maggie at the age of thirteen was old enough to understand the situation, refusing to go with her mother when the divorce happened.

"Bethy?" Maggie called from the living room of their new home.

Little Beth dropped the dolls she had been playing with and ran out to meet her sisters call. Their dad wasn't home at the time; he claimed to be at work a lot anymore. But, Annette and Hershel hadn't raised stupid children and Maggie could smell the alcohol on him when he got home. The eldest sister didn't mind watching her sister though, she actually enjoyed it. She figured it was better he went out to drink, rather than staying home and doing it, that way Beth didn't have to see.

"Come on, we got some of the neighbors mail, I gotta go give it to them." Maggie said slipping on her shoes.

"You mean that house across the street?" Beth's interest sparked at her sisters words; she had seen a boy around her age a couple a times outside the house.

Maggie smiled and nodded her head opening the front door heading out with little Beth in tow.

They crossed the street and knocked on the door, only to have a small boy with shaggy brown hair and not much taller than Beth open the door. He looked up to them with surprise.

"Hi, are your parents home?" Maggie asked.

"No."

"Oh. They're not? You're here alone?"

"My brothers here, but he's sleeping."

"Oh okay, well here some of your guys mail got delivered to our house by accident."

Daryl grabbed the envelope and nodded his head looking through his hair at them a bit anxiously.

"Can you come out and play?" Beth's voice bubbled from the air showing him hopeful eyes.

Her eyes. Daryl didn't think he had ever seen a bigger, bluer, pair of eyes than hers. He suddenly felt incredibly nervous under her stare and shrugged. He never really played with other kids. Let alone bubbly blue eyed ones.

"Will your brother mind?" She asked him again.

"No." Daryl answered simply. He wouldn't.

To be honest Merle probably didn't even know or care if Daryl was there or not.

"Can he come play?" Beth asked looking up at Maggie.

"You guys can play outside, if it's okay with your brother?" Maggie questioned again looking to Daryl.

"He don't care."

"Okay…" Maggie said a little hesitantly only for the fact that the boy's parents weren't home, but figured if they just played outside it would be fine.

"I'm gonna head back over to the house, stay in the yard where I can see you Beth, and come check in, in a bit." Maggie chided her younger sister, Beth had been known to be a little too curious for her own good sometimes. Beth nodded as she watched her sister go back across the street.

"My names Bethany Greene but you can call me Beth, what's your name?" The bright eyed blonde asked as she skipped down the Dixon's porch steps as Daryl followed behind her.

"Daryl."

"Daryl. That's a good name." She smiled to him as she sat in the patchy grass of his front lawn.

"S'just a name." Daryl shrugged sitting down a crossed from her.

"It's a good name." She assured him as she pulled dandelions from the lawn making a bouquet of them in her hands.

"Where are your parents?" She asked looking to him.

Daryl shrugged again. "Dunno."

"They didn't tell you?"

"Never do…" He replied as he plucked grass, staring at it and avoiding her gaze.

"Oh. My daddy's gone right now too, he's at work."

When Daryl didn't reply Beth spoke again.

"Do you want to catch some bugs?" And to Daryl it sounded funny coming out of the little blonde's mouth.

Naturally, he perked up in curiosity.

"Ya like to catch bugs?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, you wanna?" Beth beamed at him, like she had struck gold. He couldn't disappoint her with a look like that so he agreed.

"Sure."

The two played, and caught bugs until Daryl's mother arrived home, in which she was drunk and told him to come inside for the night, not paying much mind to little Beth Greene. Daryl was about to go inside just as he heard Beth call from across the road.

"You wanna play again tomorrow? She hollered.

He didn't take much time to reply, already knowing his answer immediately.

"Yeah." Daryl couldn't help but smile back at Beth's reaction. She had a wide smile and those big, blue eyes that brightened with each passing moment. He watched as she practically skipped back inside.

He was suddenly glad that their mail had been accidently delivered to the her house, and he was glad that it wouldn't be the last time he saw Beth Greene.