"I'm so, so sorry!"

Beth managed to choke out her words through the insane laughter threatening to burst from her lungs.

Daryl had just tried to punch yet another one of the "zombies" in the haunted house they were in. For the third time. Beth managed to grab by the arm just in time. Again.

Beth wasn't sure which was better – the fact that Daryl, her Daryl, big, tough, strong Daryl was afraid of a haunted house, or the fact that she clearly wasn't, and therefore had to play the role of protector. Either way, she was having a blast.

As an embarrassed Daryl pulled her away quickly (his hand had a tight, clammy grip on hers), she heard him mutter something about hating Halloween under his breath. His face had turned bright red – so bright that she could see it even in the darkness of the haunted house.

"What was that about you not bein' afraid of anything? Remind me again?" Beth looked up at him innocently. Half of her wanted to throw him up against one of the warped mirrored walls and have her way with him, but the other half of her really just wanted to play along and be the big tough one for once.

Daryl glared at her. It was so cute. She giggled again. She could see the hint of a smile forming on his lips.

"Weren't my fault they don't know how to defend themselves," he said in a whisper, as if to himself. Beth couldn't stop smiling. He was still grasping her hand like it was his lifeline. Her big, scared Daryl Dixon. She squeezed his hand to make sure he knew she was with him.

"Daryl, they're all just actors," she said, the huge grin still on her face– oh how she knew she would look back on this night with pleasure. "Besides, who tries to punch a zombie? You're a hunter, you have to know it's not gonna wor-OH MY GOD!"

Daryl and Beth both yelled loudly as they rounded the corner, only to be faced with a huge man dressed as the terrifying clown from It. Beth hated clowns. If she hadn't hated clowns so much, she would have noticed how funny they looked – Beth had wrapped herself around a wide-eyed Daryl, who had instantly crouched down in an awkward fighting stance, all the while holding onto her for dear life.

There was a silent moment. The clown didn't move. It just stood there, like a statue.

"Hang on," she heard Daryl say gruffly, as they both straightened up, each a bit pink in the cheeks, "I don't think it's real."

With his hand still firmly in hers, Daryl slowly inched forward towards the terrifying thing. He stood right in front of it (Beth was standing next to him, her eyes closed) and reached out his other hand to touch the clown's big red nose.

Suddenly the clown jerked forward, and Daryl reacted much like a startled cat. In a flash, Beth realized that Daryl had scooped her up into his arms bridal style, and had darted out of the room. She heard him panting desperately as he pushed his way through startled people and headed quickly towards the open front door. Beth was practically screaming with laughter.

As they reached the cool air of the outside, Beth felt herself being lowered to her feet. She was convulsing with laughter so hard, she had to drop to the ground. They were in the grass in front of a line of people waiting to get inside. Daryl plopped down next to her, still panting from his great escape.

"I told you this was a bad ide-"

But Beth cut him off as she flung herself onto him, her mouth meeting his almost instantly. She couldn't explain it, but the fact that Daryl Dixon was afraid of a haunted house had turned her on like nothing else.

Daryl responded with enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around her waist and practically closing the space between them. They sunk into each other, momentarily oblivious to their surroundings until –

"Eww, gross, get a room!"

Beth looked around at 12 year old kid standing in line with his friends. She grinned at the kid and stood up. She looked mischievously back down at Daryl.

"What?" he asked her, still sprawled out on the grass, enjoying the cool night air.

"I want to go again."

He stared at her for a second, groaned, and then made to stand up.

"Alright, fine."

And with that, he bent down to pick her up by the waist and flung her over his shoulder. She shrieked and banged on his back with her hands as they walked towards the back of the line to do it all again. Daryl grinned at her and poked at her sides to make her laugh even harder. Maybe he didn't hate Halloween that much after all.