Author's Note: Hey everyone! Finally getting a moment to get this chapter typed out. To be honest I have been struggling a little to figure out a direction for this story. I have ideas but figuring out which ones to use has been the struggle. This chapter is a filler and fluff chapter. Daryl and Beth just became official and the next couple of chapters will be them navigating this new aspect of their relationship. Also, all the tracking/hunting stuff in this chapter is me guessing how it is done. So let's just pretend my tracking/hunting logic is sound. Thanks y'all. Leave reviews. I love hearing your feedback.

"Well this place was a bust." Glenn says as we search the empty food bank.

"It was worth a shot." Daryl replies.

"Whoever was must have made out like bandits." Glenn says from behind the counter looking at a clipboard.

"What makes you say that?" Maggie asks as we all make our way over to where he is standing.

He wiggles the clipboard. "Found the inventory list." He hands the clipboard over to Daryl. Maggie and I peek over his shoulder to get a good look.

"By the looks of it, whoever was here made out with at least half of what is on here and not that long ago either. If we were here six months earlier, we'd be the ones making out like bandits." Daryl states.

Maggie looks at him, "There is no way you could possibly know that."

"Yes, there is… all the signs are there, you just got to know how to read them." I say before Daryl can respond. "Every place has a story to tell."

Daryl studies me and I know what he is about to say next before he says it, "So tell us a story, Evergreen."

Months earlier…

"I don't know how you can do this all day. Don't you get bored?" I whine as Daryl and I follow a deer trail we have been tracking all day. He has been teaching me to track and he has been making me take the lead on this trail. I have a feeling if he was the one tracking then we would have already caught up to the deer by now.

"Quit your complainin' woman. You said you're sick of squirrel and snake meat. If you want fine dinin' you have to work for it. Now get back to trackin'." He says playfully. "And to answer your question, no, I never get bored."

"Of course you don't." I mumble begrudgingly.

"You have to stay focused. You're doing good, just keep at it." He encourages as we see some fresher tracks.

"I have been focused. I just… it is hard to do this all day is all."

"When I's learning to track with Merle, I had a hard time staying on task for long periods of time too. You have to find a way to concentrate. I use to count the number of tracks we came across until we found whatever it was we was trackin'. After a while I didn't need to do it anymore. You just have to find what works for you."

I have always been the type of person to multitask. When you are tracking, that is it you are tracking. After a while your mind begins to wander… or at least mine does. Daryl Boone over here, on the other hand, apparently never has that problem. Well not anymore. I start counting the tracks and pray that it helps.

After another hour of tracking we finally bagged the deer. Counting did help. A lot. But after a while that got old too. I guess he is right, I will have to find what works for me. I tell Daryl my suspicion from earlier that if he were the one hunting it, we would have been eating much sooner. He simply nods but tells me how good of a job I did as he hands me some meat. It is delicious. Way better than squirrel or snake. "C'mon let's find a better place to make camp for the night." As tired as I am, I am happy I get to follow him now.

We find a cute little house just off the main road. It is a small country home, a porch that wraps all the way around the house and I see a chimney up on the roof. I am so thankful not to have to sleep outside tonight and so excited about the possibility of sitting by the fire. As we near the front door, Daryl raises his crossbow. We get onto the porch and he looks in the windows. He gives me a nod as he comes toward the door. I bang on the front door and we wait. Nothing. Not a sound. I open the door and we quickly work to clear the house. Unfortunately, we find a man out in the backyard who 'opted out' as Daryl likes to say.

The house is so cozy. There are pictures all over the walls and the mantle of the family that use to live here. I think about the house and all the memories it must hold as I look at the pictures. Every place has a story to tell. Then something clicks in my mind. "Stories." I say aloud. Daryl who is laying on the couch just looks up at me like I have lost my mind. "You said I have to find what works for me to keep my mind from wandering. Maybe I come up with a story about what I am tracking."

He has one arm above his head and with his other hand he strokes his chin thinking. "Not a bad idea. Try it tomorrow."

The next morning, we set out to find some breakfast and Daryl points out some rabbit tracks ahead of us. "Go ahead, tell me a story, Greene."

Present:

I have been stories to Daryl ever since that day about the things I am tracking or the places we find. "Tell us a story, Evergreene." I know this is a test since we haven't done it in a while. I was paying attention earlier, but I start to walk the food bank again. I want to be sure I get this right, especially with everyone watching.

Everyone is quiet as they watch me study the room. Of course that doesn't last long, because Maggie can't stand silence. "Uh… what is happening?"

In my peripherals, I see Daryl glare at Maggie. I know she will ask again if someone doesn't answer her. But I ignore her question as I spot a couple of blankets in the corner. "Well whoever was here, stayed here. Based on the amount of dust on the shelves, they had to have had a pretty big haul. I'd say maybe half of what is on that list. Maybe a little more." I glance at Daryl who is nodding so I continue. "That is a lot for just one person, so more than likely there were at least two to three people here. Probably part of a bigger group. But it is possible one person could have made multiple trips." I don't want to rule out any possibilities. "They stayed here, so that leads me to believe they didn't hit the houses across the street. Why sleep here when you could sleep in a comfy bed across the street?"

Glenn interjects, "They could have hit the houses first then came here."

"They could have but if it were you, wouldn't you want to see what this place had to offer first?" He thinks on it and nods. "And if this place was such a success then why hit the houses unless they needed something specific? I'm thinking they came here, got what they came for and took off."

"But there is no way of telling when they were here." Maggie says.

"The graffiti outside." I go out the front door knowing they will follow behind me.

"We don't know that they did it though." Maggie argues.

"Look at it. The colors are too bright to have been from before and the pamphlet said this food bank was new to the community. The paint is hardly cracked or weathered. They definitely did this."

"Good job, Evergreene." Daryl praises. I look at Maggie and Glenn who look thoroughly impressed.

We all stare at the graffiti for a few minutes. "Wonder what it means? 'Wolves not far.' Do you think they mean like actual wolves?" Maggie asks.

"Who knows?" Glenn says. "You guys want to check out the houses or head back?"

We all look at each other and no one objects. "Alright we will just hit the block. You guys take the houses on the right and we'll take the houses on the left. We will start at the end and work our way back here." Daryl instructs Maggie and Glenn.

We all agree and head down the street. I look at the houses as we pass them, and I can't help but to admire them. They are big, pretty, old historic homes. All of them are multiple stories with big elongated bay windows, huge porches, and unique, intricate architecture. Each one is different, but they all look similar. There is even one house that looks like it has a giant keyhole framing the door. "Aren't these houses beautiful?" Maggie and Glenn hum in agreement on my right. I look to Daryl on my left and he is just looking at me. I ask him with my eyes this time. Don't you think that is beautiful? He finally looks away and I hear him mumble, "You think everything is beautiful." He looks back at me with a little grin knowing good, and well I heard him. I try my best to look annoyed as give him a little shove and laugh quietly to myself at his teasing.

The houses didn't have a whole lot to offer. Daryl and I manage to find some medicine, batteries, and a few toys for Judith. We inspect the last house now. We didn't talk much as we looked in the houses. We fell back in that comfortable silence. I think about our conversation earlier. We have made it official now between us. I watch as Daryl looks through some more cabinets, I can tell he is deep in thought. I hope he doesn't get weirded out by all this and try to pull away again. The silence is comfortable, but I can feel it is different now. There is an electricity of anticipation or nerves in the air around us. It's like we are both waiting for the other to do something. But what I don't know.

I look over at Daryl and it is clear we are done with this house, so we both head out onto the front porch and sit down on the steps next to each other waiting for Maggie and Glenn to reappear. Last time I saw them they were a little behind us. Their bags seemed fuller than ours so maybe they are having better luck on that side of the street. Right on que, here they come out of the second to last house. Maggie's hair messy, her skin is flushed, and Glenn is straightening out his clothes. Glenn spots us, "You guys done?"

"Yup. Waiting on y'all." Daryl shouts back.

"Okay we won't be long."

As they disappear into the house, Daryl huffs, "Unbelievable."

I glance at him next to me and I shrug. "I think it is kinda sweet." Daryl looks at me. "I know it's careless but, in a world, where it is so easy to just survive, sometimes, we forget to live. To take the time and not just tell the people we love that we care for them but to show them that we care them in any way we can. I think it is nice." I feel his eyes on me as I prop my arms on the step behind us and lean back a little. He mirrors my position. His arm is touching mine, then I feel his pinky touch my hand and link it with my pinky. I smile and look at him. "See it's nice isn't it?"

"Yeah it is."