Chapter One

Beth woke up sharply after hearing a door slam, groaning she looked over at her clock (6:00a) before turning towards her window in time to see Jimmy storming down out of the farmhouse and towards the barn. "Guess he is still mad." Thought a sleepy Beth lifting her hands to rub her eyes before throwing herself out of bed.

She didn't know why she expected otherwise; with Jimmy it was always the same when she did something he didn't like. He would storm off and pitch a fit then ignore Beth for a few days before seeking her out again. She wondered if this time would be different. He wasn't mad because she had messed up his laundry or Lord forgive her argued against something Jimmy said. No, this time he was mad because she had broken up with him last night.

Dating Jimmy was something she had done in high school just because it was something to do. She had tried to break it off with him after they finished high school, but he had insisted that she would need him to be a constant in her life with all of the changes she was about to go through.

Beth had spoken with Maggie and was ready to end it for real when everyone began to get sick. The next thing she knew all of Jimmy's family was dead and he was living on her farm…a farm that used to be full of 'sick' people. At least that's what her Daddy had said. Shaking her head and hoping that Jimmy's tendency to ignore her combined with the distraction of the people who were living on their land would be enough to keep him busy and away from her for awhile.

The farm had been in a flurry since the arrival of this strange group. Group didn't quiet fit them, but she had no other way to describe them as a whole. Some like Dale and Andrea were obliviously close and looked out for each other, while others like Glenn and T-Dog seemed to get along with everyone but still didn't seem particularly connected to the group as a whole. Then there were Shane and Daryl who seemed to be on the very outset of the strange combination of people. Both seemed likely to take off at any moment, but didn't and she was never sure why.

Beth had always been a good judge of character; the death of 3/4th of the population didn't diminish that talent. If anything she seemed to have honed her skill, easily spotting the good and the bad, although admittedly the good were becoming few and further between. Rick was easy to identify. He was their leader, and clearly cared not only for his wife and son, but also for any person who needed help.

Conversely, Beth had always been weary of Rick's right hand man. Shane. It was clear to Beth that while Shane was capable of love he cared only for Lori and Carl. Which would have been fine in the world before walkers, but now it only served those two individuals and in fact put the rest in danger. Although no one had come out and said it, Beth was convinced that Shane had killed Otis. The only other person who seemed to share her belief was Daryl.

Daryl Dixon the resistant bad ass. Beth spent time pondering what Daryl did before and so far she didn't think any of her guesses had come close to the truth. Beth knew that Daryl was good. She had seen how gentle he had been with Carol after the little girl came out of her barn.

She had watched him put himself in the line of danger to shield the others who in turn didn't seem to think much of him. Still, Daryl was a mystery to Beth. Bash, rude, abrupt, hardly had a nice thing to say yet still he was kind. No, kind wasn't the right word, but he was definitely something, and Beth was determined to find out what.

Thinking back to the afternoon that she almost 'opted out' as Daryl had called it, Beth realized that she had made a huge mistake and was never more thankful to have failed at something in her life. Andrea had been lost and confused and was looking for someone to be lost with her when she spoke with Beth. Although she was right, Beth did need to choose to live, suicide was not the only way to make that decision. The world wasn't that black and white.

Shaking her head Beth thought of the different reactions everyone at the farm had, the most surprising having been Daryl's. It was about a week after she had made her choice and decided to live. After tossing and turning for several hours Beth forced herself out of bed and headed downstairs where she hesitantly pushed open the front door. It was the first time she had been outside in longer than the girl cared to admit. Deeply breathing in the cool breeze Beth moved to sit down on a rocking chair bringing her legs underneath her body.

No long after she had settled in the chair Beth saw a flash out of the corner of her eye. Jumping in her chair and heart racing Beth heard a deep rough voice and relaxed. Chewing on her lowered lip thoughtfully she whispered, "Daryl?" "Sorry, didn't mean ta scare ya." Said the gruff voice. "It's alright." Said Beth turning towards the man and gesturing to the rocking chair next to her. "Wanna sit?" she asked after a minute. Daryl didn't reply but moved towards the empty rocker next to her. The two sat in silence looking out at the stars.

"You know what you did was stupid right?" asked Daryl after a long while looking out across the yard. "I know." Said Beth softly pulling her knees up to hug her chest and resting her head atop them. "It was more than stupid." She continued. "I just wish that everyone would stop bein' so gentle around me. I made a bad choice. I was depressed, but I'm not a little kid. I can handle more than they think." She finished in a huff.

Daryl had never taken kindly to people who he viewed as weak. Beth would later speculate it was because it reminded him of how weak and powerless he was as a little boy. "You don't wanna be treated like one, so take some advice stop acting like one. You were weak and stupid, but you made the decision to live that shows strength and bravery. So stop walking around like a wounded puppy and face the consequences. Deal with your shit." Daryl snarled at Beth. "Stop complaining. We get it you lost people." "I watched my mother and brother die." Said Beth passionately with tears jumping into her eyes as she cut him off.

"We've all lost people. Hell, I'd like to see you name one person who hadn't since this damn thing started. Put on your big girl panties and start acting your age." Beth glared at across the yard in the dark, tears welling up in her eyes. She knew he was right but she would be damned if he knew that or if he saw her tears. "Why'd you come up here anyway?" Beth cut at him still hurt and embarrassed. With a glare that had Beth reeling Daryl slung back the rocking chair and shot up. "Damn if I know." He muttered to himself before storming off of the porch.

Moving to her dresser Beth pushed the memory aside, deciding to get ready and go down stairs to face up to her shit. Just like Daryl had told her to do, and leave the mystery of the youngest Dixon for another day.