Daryl was on watch at the wall until 10 pm. He didn't really mind. The weather was warm and there was a full moon tonight. All in all it was pretty nice.

Since they'd been in the Alexandria Safe Zone, life was back to a slower pace. They had shelter, food and water. The walls were solid and high. Getting accustomed to the new group of survivors had taken some time. He still found it hard to trust anyone that wasn't part of his family from the prison. That was just partly the way Dixons were made and partly due to all the shit they saw at Terminus and out on the road. Still after months working beside the Alexandrians, he felt pretty much at home with these folks.

He looked up at the sky overhead. It seemed like there were more stars visible in the last year than he'd ever noticed before. It was probably due to the haze clearing since all the gas engines of the world had gone silent. Whatever it was it made for a pretty sight and reminded him of another night when he sat and looked at stars while sipping on moonshine.

That was the night that Beth Greene changed something in him. She didn't even realize what she was doing at the time but her simple faith and honesty was exactly what he needed that night. It gave him the strength to put away a past that had defined him. It gave him hope in something bigger than himself for the first time in his life.

He remembered her sitting on the porch with the moonlight shining from behind her. She looked pale and sad as she spoke about her father and Maggie. She got him to admit things about himself that he'd never said aloud before. Then she looked up at him with a gleam in her eye and announced, "We should burn it down."

His first reaction was shock. What the hell was she thinking? A fire would draw walkers and any other hostiles that were in the area. It would push them out into the woods in the dark. Then he realized she wasn't just talking about burning down the shack. She wanted him to burn down all the bad memories, the fear and doubt. She was talking about starting over, building something new. He stood up and started to walk back inside but he turned at the last minute and looked down at her.

"We're gonna need more booze," he said, and she smiled before jumping up to join him.

She'd joined into the madness as he splashed every inch of that damned dump with the homegrown hooch they found. Then she stood defiantly with middle finger raised as the flames shot through the roof of the place and they watched. He knew then that Beth had a little piece of his heart.

Daryl heard the telltale moaning of the walking dead and looked down from his post to see three of them heading toward the wall. They'd end up impaled on the spikes that were set up so he ignored them. It was best to leave them to the traps unless it was a large group.

As he scanned the edge of the forest looking for other walkers, his thoughts drifted once again. He was sitting in a kitchen with Beth. She was writing a note while he gnawed on a pickled pig's foot. He told her that maybe she didn't need to write a note, maybe she could thank their benefactors in person. He remembered exactly how she looked up at him and playfully asked, "So you do think there's still good people. What changed your mind?"

He wanted to tell her that she was the thing that had changed not only his mind but his heart. She was the light that he followed to find his way out of the darkness. He wanted to say that he loved her, that she was beautiful and strong and special and that he'd never let anything happen to her. All he could do, though, was look at her and mumble. He couldn't say anything but somehow his eyes must have spoken because all of a sudden her expression changed and she simply said, "Oh."

Daryl wasn't sure what the one word signified. Was she simply acknowledging his feelings? Did she feel anything similar? Was it "Oh, no!" or "Oh, yes!". He had all those questions racing through his mind but before either of them could say anything else, the cans strung across the front entrance began clattering. "That damned dog again," he thought as he recklessly walked over and pulled the door open. The sight of a crowd of walkers sent him into a panic. He had to get Beth to safety.

He yelled to her to get out, go to the road. She didn't want to leave him but he told her he'd be right on her heels. He lied. Getting away from the hungry horde proved more challenging than he expected. When he finally made it outside, she was gone. The car with the cross in the window carried her away from him and he had no way to give chase. It was probably the most helpless he ever felt as he ran down that road watching tail lights disappear into the darkness.

Rick and Carl walked by below him. They were taking Judith out for a stroll and they waved as they passed. Carl was holding Judy. L'il Asskicker was getting so big. It was hard to believe that she would soon be walking. It was lucky that they'd found a safe haven so that she'd be able to run around freely. He remembered Beth carrying that little bundle everywhere when they were back at the prison. He remembered her walking those hallways bouncing the little one and singing.

The thought of her singing gave rise to a memory of lying in a coffin and listening to her play the piano, her voice lilting softly through the silence, "We'll buy a beer and shotgun, sit on our lawn and we'll be good. " Because he had a full stomach and a soft place to lay his head that night, it made it easy to pretend for a bit that the life in Beth's song could be real. That they could live in a place like this and be good. He could take care of her. It was the kind of thing he'd never allowed himself to dream before.

Alexandria was different than any place he'd ever known. The streets were clean and the houses were nice. Neighbors didn't get drunk and end up in screaming fights. He was used to the ugly side of life. That's what he always known even before the turn. The walking dead weren't nearly as bad if you grew up the way that he had. Bad was what he expected out of life, but even he had been unprepared for the things he saw at Terminus and with Joe. The only thing that pushed those awful experiences out of his head was her.

All the ugliness he'd gone through with the Claimers and the cannibals at Terminus just faded into white noise when he saw her standing across from him in that hospital hallway. She looked different somehow. It wasn't just the cuts on her face. Something had happened to her. He could see it in her eyes. The fire was still there but it wasn't just a candle flicker now. The fire burning inside her had been fueled by pain. It was harsher but also stronger than ever before. Then she looked up at him and smiled. Her smile was the same. It was his Beth. She was alive. She was here. She was walking towards him. His mind fast forwarded to the sound of the gunshots and the yelling. It was chaos. He closed his eyes. He always got that same choking, helpless feeling when he thought about that moment. The gun went off and he saw Beth falling and blood on her face. He reacted instantly and put that bitch Dawn down like the mad dog she was. He ran to Beth. She couldn't be gone. She couldn't leave him when he never got a chance to let her know what she meant to him.

A sound behind him made him turn around.

"Hey whatcha' doing, Mr. Dixon?" Beth asked in that playful way that she had.

"Nuthin'. How 'bout you Mrs. Dixon?" he replied as she walked into his arms and pressed her head against his chest.

"I just didn't want to go to sleep without you," she told him. "The bed feels too big when you're not there."

Daryl smiled and rested his chin against the top of her head. "That bed's getting' smaller by the day," he told her.

"What do you mean?" Beth asked, acting shocked. "Are you calling me fat?"

Daryl leaned back and placed a hand down on her growing belly. He felt his child give a little kick against his palm and it sent chills down his spine. He never failed to be completely in awe of the miracle that was Beth Greene and now she was carrying another little miracle inside her.

"Nah, but this little one is gettin' big," he told her as he rubbed her stomach.

"Yeah. Another month or so and he'll be out here with us. It's kinda scary to think about, isn't it?" she asked him as they stood together.

Everything was mass confusion in the corridor at Grady Hospital. Guns were drawn, people were yelling. Blood was spreading across the floor. He ran toward Beth and kneeled down next to her. He sobbed convulsively when he saw that her eyes were open. She was looking around in panic and confusion. A long gash along the side of her head was bleeding profusely but she was alive. She was still alive. He grabbed her into his arms. "Oh, Beth. You're alright. You're safe," he said over and over and he clung to her there in the hallway and he had never let go since.

He placed his hand on the side of her face where he could still feel the scar from the bullet that barely missed ending her life.

"Nope, babies don't scare me. Only thing that scares me is the thought of losing you," he admitted.

She looked up at him with eyes shining. "I'm gonna remember that when it's time for diaper changes," she told him as she pulled his face toward her until their lips could meet. They stood there holding on to each other and talking until Daryl's shift was over. Then he helped her climb down the ladder.

They made their way back to the room they'd been assigned where they had a bed, a small closet and a desk. Their whole floor shared bathrooms in this building that had once been a school. It wasn't ideal but as Beth had pointed out, "It's way nicer than that car trunk." He untied his boots and left them by the door and then took off his dirty work pants and shirt. Now in his boxers and t-shirt, he joined a sleepy Beth in the bed. She immediately curled herself around him, and he wrapped her in his arms.

He realized that as usual his wife was correct. The bed only felt right when they were in it together. Soon there would be three instead of two but there would always be room. He kissed her forehead gently before closing his eyes and starting to doze. Merle's face came to him in the space between waking and sleep as it often did only this time Merle was smiling. "You done alright for yourself, Darlina. Yes sir. A Dixon can survive, ain't that right?" Merle said to him before disappearing again.

Daryl smiled and whispered, "Yep, we can make it long as we're together." He pulled Beth closer and then the Dixon family slept dreaming of the future that they would share together.