I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post… school is insane, and my religion classes make me want to pull my hair out and cry. The professor's doctrine is SO OFF, but that's neither here nor there.

I've given this fic an M rating, because Daryl and Beth's relationship is so volatile that their first more than platonic encounter is going to be unexpected and intense. Bring on the le sexytimes. But not until I decide they should.

Even if Daryl had wanted to wake Beth up sometime in the early morning for a watch change, he doubted she'd awaken for anything less extreme than a horde of walkers. He could tell just by the way she slept, dead as a rock, that she needed it.

He could go three days without really needing sleep. Of course, he didn't like stretching himself that thin, but he would if it meant Beth was more alert and able to move quickly.

She woke on her own shortly after sunrise; the morning sun that made it through the trees into the cave must have blinded her. It was good to know which way was east, at the very least. Daryl had smothered the fire just before the sky had begun to get light, and was heating a can of beans in the still smoldering embers.

"We're headin' north," he said gruffly as a 'good morning'. "We gotta get the right supplies, an' a vehicle. Can't go another day without one." He felt something in his chest twinge when she smiled at him, a silent thank you reverberating between them.

A short while later, they were northbound, looking for a home to pick through. Daryl had given Beth the knife from his boot when they left out the cave, and she'd only had to use it once so far. The walkers in this area were few and far between, but they didn't dare lower their guard, especially when Beth pointed to one house in particular, which looked as though it hadn't ever even been touched.

"There could be anything inside, so just stay behind me an' keep the knife ready." Beth nodded in agreement, feeling her heart beat wildly in anticipation. They jogged up onto the porch, and Daryl jigged the doorknob. He was about to kick it in when Beth protested.

"Don't go gettin' that way, little girl," he warned but she shook her head and bent down. Beside the welcome mat was a potted plant with stones lining the dried out soil. She picked up the second largest of the rocks and lo and behold, it unhinged to reveal a spare key.

"Daddy used to keep one of these around, for when Maggie and I got outta school and he was at work. We forgot our keys a lot…" she admitted sheepishly. Daryl took the key and unlocked the door. He jiggled the knob again and it clicked open softly. Letting it swing open on its own accord, they cautiously entered the mudroom, waiting.

There didn't seem to be an immediate threat; the house appeared to be just as untouched inside as out. Whoever had lived before apparently had had money, because the furnishings on the ground floor looked expensive. Perhaps they had been on a vacation when it all happened, somewhere exotic, and just never made it home?

Beth had wandered into the kitchen, so Daryl followed; his stomach was rumbling. State of the art appliances, by the look of it. The room gave off a faint eggy smell, though. This gave Daryl an idea.

"You check the pantry and cabinets for food and useful things, I'll be right back." he said, turning on the heel of his boot and heading off.

"Where are you goin' Daryl?" Beth called after him, but he made no effort to reply. Typical.

Beth rolled her eyes at the redneck and began doing as he asked.

She went for the pantry first, careful to check for walkers lurking in the doorway.

"Holy jackpot, Batman," she said to herself. It was the most glorious thing she'd seen since… well, since she found her junior prom dress on sale for 30% the original value. Which, now that Beth thought on it, made her feel pretty pathetic.

Beth immediately began transporting cans upon cans of vegetables and preserves and sauces onto the marble countertops in the kitchen. There were all sorts of things that were still good. Hell, even some of the expired stuff could still be eaten. Everything had enough preservatives in it to last a decade, despite what it said on the label.

After she'd picked through the pantry, she wandered back into the mudroom, and opened the closet door. Fur coats. High heeled pumps. Wool jackets well preserved in plastic. These people must have been rolling in money. She did manage to find a couple of men's leather jackets in the very back of the closet. They were retro, but Daryl might appreciate them. Beth, on the other hand? Beth wanted something puffy and full of goose feather down.

As she went back into the kitchen to take inventory of everything she had laid on the counter, she heard something bang and a shout, and it seemed to have come from downstairs. Knife in hand, she made her way to the basement door in the main hallway, which had been left open.

"Daryl?" she called down meekly.

"Get another flashlight out of the bag and come down here!" he replied gruffly. Another bang, and then an uttered curse word that she had no business hearing.

Beth found the second flashlight and headed downstairs, with some trepidation. She turned it on and pointed it at the sound of the commotion, to see Daryl, wrench in hand, peering at what seemed to be a

"Generator, for personal home electricity. Cuts back on taxes and makes the well water not smell so bad," Daryl explained, noticing Beth's confused face.

"So why are you working on it?" she asked, still not understanding.

"If I can get it working again, then there will be running water." Beth couldn't help it, she squealed in delight.

"Shower!" she exclaimed happily.

"I don't know how long it's been off like this, it might not be fixable." he reminded her. Beth was too happy to care.

"We can have pasta for dinner, Daryl. Pasta! You'll fix it, I know you will." It didn't look damaged to her, so she strode toward it, flashlight pointed at the power switch. "Did you try flipping the switch first?"

"Do you think I'm stupid or somethin'?" he asked, frowning. She pushed the button anyway, and it roared to life. Beth looked at him sheepishly.

"I'm sure you did something to fix it already," she offered. Daryl pushed past her, but not before she noticed a slight reddening of his cheeks. She hadn't meant to embarrass him.

They went back upstairs and checked the lights. They turned on after a minute of warming up. Beth laughed happily and immediately skipped into the bathroom to check the water. Lo and behold, after about two minutes of a dull drown color in the water, it soon ran clear, and even a little warm.

"Shower and then food?" she asked Daryl when he entered the kitchen. He nodded.

"Let's clear the top floor first."

I have zero clue if what I just described is like, a real thing, but for the purposes of my story, it works. So deal. Haha. I'm not sure when I'm going to really start playing up the Baryl, but it will be sometime in the next four chapters.

Reviews are always appreciated; I'm going to try to start posting longer chapters, but usually my flow stops working around the third page on Microsoft Word.

A huge thanks to everyone that has favorited/followed this so far. I feel extremely blessed.