As always, thank you to everyone who is reading and subscribing to this story ... I really appreciate it :)

And, a Special Thank you to alice_weekes, JustThea, CharluvsCarl, EG458561, and IWillEatYourFace for commenting on the last chapter - you all seriously rock! I love you all!

And, now back to our story ...

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Beth's POV –

"Daryl? Daryl?"

"Shhh, shh. Honey, daddy's here."

"Daryl?"

"No, sweetheart … its daddy."

"Daddy?" I couldn't even open my eyes, every part of me felt like a million pounds. I couldn't life a muscle. "Where's Daryl?"

"He went on a run. Went to go get ya some medicine, so we can make ya feel better."

"That's nice of …"

I couldn't finish my sentence; I started to cough uncontrollably. I could feel my fill with the taste of blood. Daddy held up a cloth and spit it out. I didn't look, but I knew it was more blood.

This gettin' worse …

"What is this daddy?"

"Think ya just got the flu, sweetheart. Nothin' to worry bout."

He put a cold compress on my head. I started to shiver.

"It's so cold, daddy … please stop."

"I'm sorry … we gotta keep this fever down."

"But, I'm so cold." I continued to shiver.

"That's the fever. Makes ya feel cold even though your burnin' up."

My teeth started to chatter and I started to cry a bit. The hot tears streamed down the side of my face.

"I'm I gonna be alright?"

"Sure ya are. Once we get some of that medicine in ya, you'll be just fine."

"What if … what if …?" I coughed again. "What if they can't find what they're lookin' for?"

Daddy laughed. "Are ya kiddin' me? We got Daryl and Glenn out there lookin' for ya. Even got Nick out there with him."

I was a little worried about that ... I wondered if the boys we're gonna play nice. I hoped that there wouldn't be any issues with Daryl and Nick … I knew how much Daryl didn't like Nick. And, with all those walkers around, ya can't have anyone with ya that ya don't trust. I hoped they would all be okay.

Daddy put another compress on my head; my entire body convulsed with uncontrollable shakes. The shivering had taken on a life of its own.

"Don't ya worry, Bethy. They'll bring it back, and you'll be fine. Judy'll be fine. We'll all be fine."
He was talkin' to me, but it almost sounded like he was tryin' to reassure himself too. Tryin' to convince himself we were all gonna be alright.

I could tell by the tone in his voice … he was completely convinced.

I tried to smile. "Okay, daddy." Then, I started to have another coughing fit. The blood and mucus filled my mouth and I spit it into the rag daddy held up to my mouth.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I don't know if minutes or hours had passed, I must have passed out. When I awoke, I heard daddy talkin' to Carol. I was able to open my eyes a bit. Daddy was crouched down beside me and had a couple of bottle of pills.

"Hey Bethy. I need ya to sit up and take these."

"What are they?"

"Here … just take them … they'll make ya start to feel better." He reached over to the table.

"And, here … I made ya some Elderberry tea, just like your momma used to make."

I smiled and daddy helped me sit up. I took a sip of the tea and then washed down several of the pills daddy handed to me. I took another sip.

"It does taste just like Momma's." Just that familiar taste made me feel a bit better. Momma had always made it whenever me or daddy had gotten sick. "Thanks daddy."

"Anythin' for you, sweetheart."

He got up to leave but I reached for his hand.

"Did Daryl and Glenn get back? Did they bring these back for us?"

"Actually, Nick did."

My heart sank.

Why would Nick return without them?

"Why? Where's Daryl and Glenn?"

Daddy took a seat next to me.

"Daddy … are they okay?"

I could feel the lump in my throat start and the tears making their way to my eyes.

"They're fine. Don't ya worry bout that now."

"No! Where are they?!" I was startin' to get real agitated. "Jus tell me already!"

"They're fine. They split up is all. Daryl and Glenn helped Nick get all of the meds that they
could, and then Daryl and Glenn sent Nick back here. With all the anti-virals Nick brought back,
everyone's gonna be just fine now."

"Why didn't they come back then? Where are they?"

"Daryl and Glenn went up to the vet school near Woodbury."

Just the name Woodbury sent chills down my spine. I hated the idea that they were gonna be so close to that place.

"Why, daddy?"

"There were a few more items on the list that they needed to get."

"They should've just come back with what they had. Why'd they risk going all the way out there for just a few things? Doesn't make any sense!"

Daddy looked at me and smiled. He tucked me into my cot better, wrapping the blanket up close around my shoulders.

"They were supplies I might need for you, sweetheart. For you … and for Ester, Harold and for Judy." He paused and grabbed at his beard. "Ya know, Daryl … he wasn't gonna come back here without everythin' we needed. Not when it comes to you … and to Judy. That's not the kinda man he is. Ya know that …"

I nodded. "Yes, I know that …"

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Alright, honey. You get some rest …"

I could already feel myself start to slip away; back to sleep. My eyelids drooped closed and I could hear daddy walkin' outta the cell.

My last thoughts were of Daryl though. I couldn't help but worry bout him when he was out on the road. I hated that he had to stay out and look somewhere else for things that I might need.
One wrong turn and ya can end up dead, or worse. The more time ya spend out there, the more ya risk gettin' caught up.

I sure hoped he was bein' careful. Glenn too.

And, even though Daryl didn't want anything more with me. Or, so he said. I really didn't care, not right now. I knew in my heart that wasn't true. He could lie all he wanted, but I knew he loved me … just as surely as I loved him. And, when daddy told me he stayed out and risked goin' to the college to get things I needed … I knew for sure he loved me underneath it all. He might not be ready to say it, but it was true nonetheless. And, that thought alone comforted me a bit.
I started to drift off to sleep … thinkin' bout Daryl … wonderin' if Judy was feelin' better now … hopin' I'd feel well enough soon to spend time with them both. It had only been a short while, but I already missed them both somethin' terrible.

I couldn't stop it … my body continued to shake; I just couldn't get warm. My body was so tired and so drained; I just shivered myself to sleep.

I love you, Daryl. Be careful out there … and come back soon …

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Daryl's POV –

The roads were pretty clear all the way to the vet school, no herds, and not too many stumblin' walkers in the roads. I was anxious and was wondering how long it would take Nick to get back to the prison to give Beth and the others the medication. I thought he might actually have already made it back there.

It was times like these when a cell phone or somethin' would be great, I thought to myself.

"Bout how long do ya think it's gonna take him to get back there?"

Glenn looked over at me. "Well, he's probably already there. Why?"

"Nothin' … jus thinkin'."

"Your really worried, aren't you?"

"Aren't you?"

Glenn looked back out the windshield of the car and towards the road.

"No."

"You're not?"

"No, I'm not. Hershel's gonna figure this out. Nick's gonna get the meds there, and we're gonna get with the rest of the supplies. No reason it won't work out."

I was glad one of us was feelin' very optimistic.

"I guess." I started to chew the skin around my thumb, and tried to shake all the negative thoughts outta my head. "Dunno … this is jus got me wound a little tight."

"Yeah … I can tell. You look it."

I looked over at Glenn and gave him and rolled my eyes; he even made me laugh for a second.

"Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it." Glenn reached over and grabbed my shoulder and shook me a bit.

"They're gonna be okay."

"Sure."

"I mean it Daryl. They're gonna be fine. Beth, Judy and the rest of em … they're all gonna be fine."

He gave me a reassuring smile.

"Alright." I shook my head and tried to get focused again on the task at hand. "Look, there!" I pointed to a sign. "There it is … should be comin' up here any minute."

I craned my neck looking off to the side of the road and to the main entrance to the school.
Glenn saw it first and called out. "Over there, on the right. Turn in there."

I pulled the truck into the parking lot. There were just a few cars in the parking lot and no walkers.

Glenn hopped out of the truck and grabbed his bag in the back seat.

"Looks like we got lucky."

I grabbed mine and slung it over my shoulder along with my crossbow.

"Yeah, but we still gotta get inside. Let's keep out fingers crossed it's just as calm inside."

Glenn raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Alright, let's get in and get the hell outta here."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

We found our way in easily enough and made our way through the hallways as quietly as possible. Glenn and I stayed together on this run, roaming from classroom to classroom.
I peered in one of the classrooms and could see two walkers lingering in one of the corners. I gave Glenn the signal to keep movin'.

Finally, we found a classroom that looked to have exactly what we were lookin' for. There were bottles of pills, liquids, medicine; surgical tools … all kinds of stuff. Glenn a copy of the list Hershel gave to me. We spent about a half hour lookin' through the shelves and cabinets and seemed to find almost everything we were lookin' for.

"Alright, there's just a few more items here on the list that I don't see here." I picked up the bag of supplies and nodded for Glenn to follow me. "Let's check a few more rooms and see if we can't find the last of these."

Glenn just nodded and fell in line behind me. We checked the hallway and it was still clear. However, the next few classrooms we checked seemed to have a few stragglers left in em.

"Fuck!" I said quietly under my breath.

Glenn nudged my shoulder. "Maybe we should just take what we have and head back."

I knew he might be right, but Hershel's voice kept runnin' through my head. And, I knew some of those supplies might be real important.

I shook my head. "Nah. We gotta find this shit. Hershel said Beth might need it, since she was already real sick."

Glenn look up at me; I could tell he knew it was important to me to get these things … even though we both knew the longer we stayed here; the more likely we were to run into trouble.

"Alright. Let's check the last of these rooms. Then, we gotta go, Daryl."

"Okay." I pointed towards the end of the hallway and walked quietly towards the next room.

Damn! Nothin' … it's a regular ole classroom.

I nodded my head no, letting Glenn know to keep it movin'.

At the end of the hall on the left, there was a different looking door; it had lettering on … looks like it read … Supply Closet.

"Hell, yeah. This is it!"

I ran over the door and grabbed for the handle and tried to open the door.

Glenn walked up behind me. "Locked … of course it is."

I looked back at Glenn, pulled out my lock picking set and gave Glenn a big grin.

"It ain't locked if ya got these."

Glenn smiled. "Hey … when the hell did you get those?"

"Found em." I couldn't help the smirk that found it's way to my face.

"Found them? Where?"

I started to pick the lock of the door.

"Well, found em might not be the right term … more like I stole em."

Glenn looked shocked.

"Where the hell'd ya steal em from?"

I continued to struggle with the lock.

"Not where … who."

"From who then?"

"Nick." I looked back at Glenn and he didn't look too disappointed. "What? I found em in his bag,
while he was in the back of the pharmacy in Grantville." I shrugged my shoulders. "It was totally by accident."

"Sure it was." Glenn laughed.
"Nah, really. I was just puttin' some of the pill bottles in his bag and … they were jus there."

Glenn laughed. "So, ya just took em?"

"Yeah … figured they might come in handy."

Glenn just shook his head and smiled. "Well, I guess ya were right." He paused. "But, looks like maybe ya shoulda asked him how to use them before you lifted them from his bag."

I exhaled. "Yeah … guess so." I jigged the lock to get it to open, but the damn thing wasn't budging.

I ain't got time for this shit!

"Here hold these." I handed Glenn the lock pick set and rummaged through my bag for my screwdriver and a hammer. "Here! Redneck lock pick."

Glenn was givin' me a hard time and makin' fun of me. Not because I knew how to pick locks, but because I only knew how to do it like a "Redneck MacGyver" as Glenn put it.

I placed the screwdriver in the slot for the key and used the hammer to slam the screwdriver into the lock. I knew the noise might attract some unwanted attention, but we needed to get in there; this supply closet was exactly what we needed.

I slammed the hammer down a few more times until it sounded like it busted the lock.

Hell yeah! This supply run was turnin' out to be a piece of cake!

I looked over at Glenn as I reached for the handle and opened the door.

"There, nothin' to it …"

I could see Glenn's eyes widen and he yelled out. "Daryl!"

Before I could see in front of me, there was a walker on top of me; gnashing its teeth at me. I walked back and tried to reach for my knife, but I tripped over my bag on the ground.

"Goddamnit!"

The fucker landed right on top of me. Must've been like 300 lbs.

It took all my strength to keep him from bitin' me. I wrestled with the walker until Glenn was able to put a knife in his head, then he fell limp on my chest.

"Ugh. Help me get him off me." Glenn helped me roll him off. "Damn, he was fuckin' heavy."

Glenn looked like he was in shock a little. "Jesus Christ, Daryl. Whew! … That was close."

"Yeah … a little too close …"Glenn reached down and gave me a hand to get up.

"Looks like he was a professor here." Glenn pointed to the walker. "How the hell'd he end up in here?"

I looked down at the over-sized walker, and saw he had a lab coat on. Looked like a walker had only bit him on the arm … but he died in the closet.

That was strange, I thought to myself. But, I saw a lot of strange shit these days.

I walked over to the supply closet and sure enough … it looked like it had everythin' we were gonna need. Then, I noticed a bottle on the floor and some other pills scattered about on the floor.

"Damn, fool. Tried to kill himself."

I pushed the pills around with my boot.

"Looks like everything's here …"

I started to load my bag with the last of the supplies and equipment on Hershel's list. Glenn was outside the door keepin' watch.

"Daryl? … Gonna need ya to hurry up."

I picked up my bag as I crossed the last item off the list. "There! Got it all!"

Glenn replied in a whisper. "Good. Cause it looks like we got company."

I looked down the hallway we came through, and bout 10 walkers were now makin' their way towards us. Before I could get my crossbow back over my shoulder, another two walkers stumbled out of one of the closer classrooms.

"Time to go!"

I started to run towards the end of the hallway. There were double doors that led out. I tried to open the doors, but they were both locked. I looked inside and it looked like they were chained closed on the other side.

"Damn!"

By this time, the closest two walkers had made their way to us. Glenn took them both out with his knife.

"What do ya wanna do?" Glenn looked down the hall at the walkers that were getting closer by the second.

I looked around and immediately noticed the huge glass bay window we were in front of.

It's as good of an exit as any …

We were only two stories up. I ran over and grabbed one of the chairs that were strewn along the side of the wall and smashed through the window.

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged and then motioned for Glenn to jump out.

"You first."

I helped Glenn out the window and threw the bags out. I quickly followed behind them; lunging out the window.

Glenn had both bags in tow now, and I ran up behind him.

"Here, gimme one."

He slid one of the bags off his shoulders as we ran towards the parking lot. We threw our bags in the back and hopped in the truck. I looked around and noticed there were a couple more walkers in the parking lot now, so I quickly tried to start the truck.

Except the truck wasn't starting; the engine just kept turning over and over …. But no ignition.

This couldn't really be happening? Not now!

"Shit!"

I popped the hood and ran to the front of the truck to see if I could access what was wrong.

"Glenn, watch for the walkers."

"Yeah, I see em."

Glenn killed three of the walkers that had made their way over to us, as I worked under the hood tryin' to figure out what was wrong with the truck. About 5 minutes passed and I still couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with the damn thing.

"We ain't got time for this. Let's see if one of these other cars will start."

I quickly surveyed the parking lot to see what options we had. There were three cars, a minivan and a motorcycle. At first glance, I thought about just grabbing the motorcycle. But, then I thought of riding all the way back to the prison with two huge bags filled with supplies and Glenn strapped to my back.

That ain't gonna work …

We tried the first two cars: one ended up having two flat tires and we didn't have time to change two freakin' tires … and the other just wouldn't start.

Then, we ran over to the Minivan.

"A Caravan?" Glenn questioned me.

"I dunno, Glenn. Does it really matter?"

I tried to open the door and it was locked. I went into my bag and grabbed my hammer and slammed it into the window.

Immediately, I realized what a mistake that was. The alarms started going off. It was the loudest damn alarm I'd ever heard.

"Fuck!" I crouched down and started to pull down part of the dash under the steering wheel.

"Hey, Daryl?"

"Yeah, Glenn?"

"You're gonna need to put that into high gear."

"Why?" I kept workin' on getting the wires down and out of the dash.

"Walkers. Lots of em … headin' our way."

I tilted my head up real quick to see. And, he meant it … there were a couple dozen walkers heading our way. Damn alarm was callin' em in from the street and down from the college.

My fingers went to work tryin' to get the damn thing to start. However, I knew we needed another plan in case I couldn't get it to start; ya gotta have a plan B.

"If we need to … we can make a run into the field over there and into the forest."

"Alright. Ya got about a minute and a half."

Way to put the pressure on, Glenn …

I fumbled with the wires but finally heard the sound I had been waitin' for … the sound of the engine starting.

"Hell, yeah!" Glenn yelled and ran to the other side of the minivan and jumped in the passenger seat.

I threw my bag in the back and jumped in myself. I threw the minivan into drive just as the herd descended on us. Had to be at least 30-40 walkers.

I sped off out of the parking lot, running down several walkers in the process. Then we were back on the road we came in on, back passed the pharmacies and back towards the prison.

Back to Beth …

END CHAPTER TWELVE

Notes

Whew ... that was a close call!

Is there anything that Daryl won't do for Beth? I don't think so ... I think he'd move heaven and earth if he had to ;)

This chapter I really wanted Daryl to have to come to terms with his feelings for Beth by having to fight to get back to her and save her. Fighting for her and going through this ordeal will force Daryl to be more open about how he feels about her. He might lose her, so he better get back to her and put it all out there before it's too late.

Every chapter they take one more step closer to each other, and the next couple of chapters they will be making bigger and bigger steps!

So, let me know what you think; like it, love it, hate it ... let me know your thoughts. If you've got a moment, please leave me a note or comment on your way out ... I'd love to hear from you all :-D

** I've got Chapter Thirteen almost done ... So, as soon as this chapter gets 5 reviews - I'll get the next chapter up within 24 hours! I know, I know ... I'm a sucker for comments and reviews. But, every time I see a new comment ... it literally puts a smile on my face (swear). Plus, they keep me motivated and inspired to keep working on the story, so I'm hoping to hear from all of you out there reading this story ... l love you all ;-)

Here's a Teaser Chapter Thirteen: Daryl returns to the prison and while the others are doing much better due to the meds Nick brought back, Beth is still not doing well. Daryl finally opens up to Beth and tells her how he feels ... ahhh :)) Lots of feels :-D

Looking forward to hearing from you!

xoxo,

Dahlia