I am in love with this chapter myself. I think it has to do with listening to Emily Kinney's music while typing these entire pages out. There are just so many lines of her lyrics that can be related to Daryl & Beth :')

And also, I wanna specially thanks both "An Amber Pen" & "Reignashii" for always leaving me really nice reviews on almost every chapter. I really really appreciated it and you made my day all the time! (toss out heart-shaped "Dixon" cookies)

Thanks many to everyone who have been following this story as well! xoxo

The dark heavy clouds loomed over the once inmates-packed West Georgia Correctional Facility, over the sanctuary as they now called it, the home of many survivors who had battled against those monsters gnawing outside the fences over the years. The temperature had noticeably begun dropping during the past few weeks and the greens in the tree had started losing its color.

The crisp of coolness in the air hung chillingly against the skin as Beth pulled her faded sweater tighter around herself, calling over to the field where the kids were playing at. She quickly rushed the kids into the cellblock before the rain started pouring down and was close to having them drenched. It was time for lunch and Carol had prepared cooked bowls of cereal for everyone inside, which all was relieved to get their bodies warmed up from the chill.

A few longs weeks had passed by and the sun was hardly there anymore, often replaced by gloomy clouds and freezing coldness after the day had settled in. They would soon be entering the long months of winter and it was starting to worry everyone. Animals were harder to hunt during colder days and even though the walls of the prison were tall and sturdy, it hardly did any good to shield the residents from the cold.

But mercifully, Abraham happened to found pieces of solar panels right on the roof of the few houses he and Tyreese had scavenged through during the run and that explained how did the security alarm system from the house that Daryl and Glenn had accidentally triggered could still work – which also at the same time, they just weren't fortunate enough.

They had brought back plenty of the panels and Eugene had immediately jumped in to propose a project he could work on. By gathering a group of residents who had suitable past experiences with building things, Abraham stepped up as the head of the construction crew and Eugene was the engineer. They had been working profusely over week after week to fix up the solar panels, in hoping it would be enough to generate electricity throughout the whole prison and the few space-heaters that were stored away for a long time would come in handy for the winter. The prison was definitely becoming more of a community than ever before.

Rosita had started picking up medical knowledge from Hershel and along with Sasha, they had set up classes teaching both firearms and melee weapons combat skills for the people as well. Carol was still giving special reading session to the younger kids in the library and Rick had happened to stumble in at one point on his way to do some reading on agriculture when he found out what she had been doing.

Despite having his hands off from the council for quite some time now, Rick still decided to hold a small meeting between Carol, Daryl, Hershel and himself about the situation. Carol had been a close friend, an important family member and he just couldn't come to any sensible conclusions by himself on whether what she was doing was right or wrong. It was then decided that she would be carrying on with what she had been doing as Hershel had stated, "It's better to be prepared than be sorry. As long as the kids know precisely what they are doing" and that was it. But this was still kept as a secret only within the cellblock C as not to rise any complications with some of the kid's parents.

Everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing and needed to do to help this community to grow and there was Beth Greene, still pretty much lost and doing odd jobs around to pass her time every day.

She wished she had the courage to go up to Rosita or Sasha to maybe take part in one their classes, to learn something more other than the very basic grasp of handling a handgun that Carl had taught her secretly back at the farm and had given her one for self-protection. But when Maggie found out her sixteen year old sister was walking around with a gun in the back of her jeans, she had took it away and insisted Beth shouldn't be holding something as deadly as that. Beth knew how persistent Maggie could get and hadn't bothered to voice out for any of her rights. But she didn't blame her older sister when Beth was once mentally and emotionally unstable enough to cut her own wrist and Maggie was most likely fearing for the worst if she could hurt herself with a gun.

Beth didn't even had a chance to actually fire a gun and killing something ever. The only time she had held a rifle was during the Governor's assault and Daryl had come running to shove one into each of their hands and Maggie did looked at her hesitantly before biting back on her tongue to ask her to drop it. Even in the chaotic life and death situation, when everyone was fighting against the intruders and walkers that had come staggering through the broken down fences, Beth was forced to stand back and was pulled away, with the heavy rifle hanging uselessly down her back.

Uselessly just like Beth Green, herself.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was probably the weakest among everyone despite the fact that her own blood sister was so much more capable and was an outstanding individual since they were little. Beth always looked up to Maggie and wished to be just like her when she was all grown up. The older Greene was perfect in almost every aspect in her life. She was tall, beautiful, she had model-like figure, smart and certainly popular among the opposite sex. Beth knew Maggie had dated many guys before the world ended and even after the end had started, she was able to meet Glenn who then became her husband. It was like God had it all planned out for Maggie, like a fairy tale in a twisted environment but nevertheless, promising her the happy-ever-after.

There was no two ways about how little Beth felt, the tingling of jealously and enviousness she had over her older sister but at the same time, she respected and love her too much that she was afraid of letting Maggie know how she had felt about her at times. She wanted to be like Maggie but she would never be like her.

Beth didn't even have the courage to look at her own reflection in the mirror anymore. Her once soft and glossy hair had long lost its shine. It was all scraggly looking and the bad tangles that her hairbrush could hardly slip through smoothly like before. Sure they had enough water for basic needs like showering but the cisterns often get clogged up from time to time and people had to head outside the fences to clean the clogged water intake hose. It was always risky no matter what they were doing the moment someone stepped outside the safety of the fences and gate.

She only allowed herself to use the shower no more than three times a week. She couldn't live with the guilt if someone had to risk their life to get the hose unclogged because of her and those that worked hard every day and was undoubtedly good with their jobs deserved the shower more than just a babysitter like her. Beth spent majority of her day indoor anyway so she didn't sweat much or none at all. It didn't really bother if she didn't shower for days. She would still clean herself up simply using a damped cloth to wipe over her skin every morning before she was done brushing her teeth with a small cup of water.

Even though the bad practice had led to her badly maintained hair, it saved her from looking at her hideous body for another moment longer. She had gotten a lot thinner since leaving the farm despite the fact they were able to have a decent three meals every day now, Beth still kept to her own strict discipline to only eat enough to not feel her stomach grumbling or when she needed to. If Karen or Carol gave her extra portion of a meal which they usually do, she would secretly share it away with the kids that she sat with. They needed those extra nutrients to grow up unlike her.

When she could hardly keep her own feelings composed, Beth was apprehensive if she was able to do anything more to help out at the prison. The past several weeks already had been erratic.

She had been helping Hershel to nurse Daryl's arm injury and that was a daily task for her; every morning and every night, she would either go to Daryl or he would come to her to have his bandage changed. It started out with her having to remind him throughout the day and she would carry a basket full of medical supplies to his cell. But after a few days, Daryl would just wait outside her cell at the usual timing instead of having her going over. Beth at first thought if he had caught the hint that this would be much more convenient for her and that was pretty sweet of him. Of course, she hadn't thought of it as anything more than just Daryl being courteous.

There wasn't much words exchanged between the two of them. Daryl being the same Daryl, only mumbled through his replies and Beth being the same as pathetic as ever, had to hold back the crazy beating of her heart and trembling of her hands when her fingers grazed over his scorching skin and she could feel her own burning under the simple touch. She prayed every day and night desperately that the older man wouldn't notice her little fidgeting awkwardness as she hurried her movement to finish it as quickly as possible. Otherwise she might just pass out right there and then due to the lack intake of oxygen that she had forgotten how to breathe.

Beth didn't dare to let her mind wander off about if Daryl would ever found out about her feelings towards him. He would had avoided her completely and probably see her as some good-for-nothing teenager that only thinks about dating boys and leaving the hard work to the adults to stress about.

If only she could be a little braver, a little stronger, maybe just maybe, Daryl would see her as something more and not the worthless little girl she has been. But then again, she wasn't exactly certain if that was what she was trying to prove at all or was she actually expecting something like a flicker of hope in Daryl that would he ever-

If he would ever-

"Beth? Beth?"

Carol's voice and the hand shaking on her shoulder jolted her back to reality. Beth responded awkwardly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked up at the older women from where she sat at the cafeteria table with Lizzie and Mika.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little tired…" and that was a half white lie.

"I can take over the class and you can take a rest in the meanwhile, would you like that?"

"Oh no, no no, it's fine Carol. I'm really fine now, thank you."

"Are you sure? I don't really mind having extra classes with the kids you know," Carol laughed, "I actually do very much enjoy it."

Beth smiled at her guiltily. She actually did felt a little drained from insomnia she was having for the last couple of nights, her train of thoughts just wouldn't shut away and it seemed to be getting worst. But she didn't think it would be a good idea for Carol to take over her mathematics class, one simple job she was assigned to and if she couldn't even get it done well, she must really be a good-for-nothing.

"I'm good, Carol. Really. Thanks a lot for your concern."

"Alright then, if you need anything else do let me know."

She nodded in reply and Carol moved back to whatever she was doing before, when the sound of voices and footsteps of heavy boots echoed into the cafeteria entrance. The iron metal gate was swung open and a few men from Cellblock D walked in with big wide smiles across their faces, carrying an impressive bunch of dead rabbits and squirrels in their hands. Daryl came in a second later holding two dead possums over his shoulder by the tails and the crossbow in the other hand where the red angry scar was still faintly visible.

"Wow, look at all of these! I see you guys got a really good hunt today." Carol exclaimed in awe and walked up to them to help out with their hunt.

"Got to thanks Daryl for all of these! He's a good teacher, real good hunting skill."

"Daryl's got all the credits. Doesn't he, guys?"

The men continued their praising and giving Daryl's a few pats on the back which he shifted awkwardly, grunting out words stating it was nothing much and it wasn't just his own effort alone. Carol was giving him an "aww" look which he nudged her arm playfully, asking her to stop as he rounded the corner to get a few cooking trays from the shelves, passing them to the other guys so they could start skinning and gutting clean their hunt.

"Make sure to get 'em all clean and neat. We can smoke 'em into jerkies to last through the winter." Daryl instructed them.

The men all sat themselves down at the several tables available and begun to work with their knife over the tray. Mika and Lizzie had been jumping in excitement the moment they saw all the furry animals even though dead, they were standing over the table watching in amazement as the fur got skinned out. Beth was pretty sure they would be asking Carol if she could make little dolls out of those furs for them later on.

The younger Greene suddenly felt the whole room was divided into two, with everyone on one side and she being alone on the other end. She had been quiet and just watching them doing their chores while she sat there like an awkward turtle. Even Carol knew how to make herself useful by simply getting them glasses of water then proceeded to sat herself beside Daryl, taking a clean cloth with her to help him clean the animal-blood stained bolts along with his crossbow, all so naturally. Daryl didn't seem to mind and Beth saw the gentle glances they gave each other with little smiles forming on their lips – yes, even Daryl actually smiled. She felt a slight tugging in her heart and decided to leave the room without anyone noticing her.

She felt like she could finally breathe probably as soon as she took a quick turn along the corridor and walked towards the library's direction. Beth was extremely self-conscious all of a sudden, not that she hadn't been feeling this way before but she felt the utmost urge to flee from the room, from the sight of both Daryl and Carol.

She knew she was acting childishly stupid but she couldn't stop the rush of bitterness that swept through her all the way to the very tips of her fingers that made her wanted to cringe away. She was fairly well aware of that special bond between the two of them and yet she was letting it get to her. They had known each other for a much longer time, they were both equally strong and capable and obviously closer in age. They were perfect together, even if what they had between them was just friendship. Beth just couldn't see how she and Daryl could ever be like this. Not at all.

Sure she had been spending more time with the older man the past weeks but that was just a short ten minutes in a day and he had a purpose and reason to approach her. After his arm injury had begun to heal properly and there was no need for wearing bandages anymore, Daryl had stopped his short visit and Beth knew then, there was nothing else left that could connect them together. She already started to miss his presence in her little cramped cell, the usual chair that he would sat on while she tend to his wound and the oddly comfortable silence. She missed all of it.

Feeling herself submitting in defeat to whatever dispute her mind was struggling with, Beth pushed her crazy thoughts away and moved into the aisle of books, pulling out those that she would need for the class later on.

The sound of the library wooden door creaked open and Beth was expecting to see the kids entering when she almost dropped the books in her hand as she turned around. There stood none other than the only person who had been torturing both her mind and soul constantly for weeks.

"Daryl?" Her voice pitched in a surprise tone as she stared at the older man standing at the doorway, blinking her eyes a couple of times to test whether he would vanish away like an illusion.

"Hey, thought you'd be here."

She watched him dragged his feet in, almost in a hesitant pace and the door fell closed behind him. She didn't know how she should react because Daryl Dixon was the very last person she had expected to be here, so she held the books closer to her chest and timidly looked up at him, feeling her stomach began to do a little flipping.

"Yeah, I've a class with the kids later on. Is there anything you need…?"

"There's somethin'…"his words trailed off as he reached a hand into the pocket of his jeans, pulling something out and tossing it over to Beth who scrambled to catch it while trying not to drop the books in her arms. He looked apologetic after that.

Beth felt something cold and solid in her palm as she looked at Daryl in confusion then back at her hand, slowly lifting her fingers away and there lay a piece of jasper in her palm. Her blue eyes widened in astonishment.

"Daryl, this is…." She was lost for words and had too many questions piling up in the back of her throat and so she waited for him to speak instead.

"Found it back at the run…thought you should've it. Ain't got use for it anyway." He spoke in an unruffled manner, the rolling of the shoulder and flick of his hand gesturing to the gem in her hand.

There was something else in his voice that she wasn't exactly sure of whether was it just her mind doing tricks or it had meant something…..

"Thanks," Daryl spoke again before she could process what was going on, "for patchin' me up."

"Daryl…"

She was tongue tied as she let his words sank in, her breath hitched in a second.

Beth looked down at the jasper again, using her other hand to pick it up in between her fingers delicately and held it against the sunlight that had seeped through from the high barred window. The overlapping mix of green and blue of it was like a reflection to her own ocean blue eyes. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. "Thank you, Daryl. I love it."

She almost had to swallow back a sob.

"It's beautiful."

Bethly is beautiful.

You guys are beautiful.