A/N: I do NOT own these characters (except Brutus) and I do NOT profit from them or this story. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Thank you to everyone for favoriting, following and reviewing. Please review this chapter. Feedback is a wonderful thing and really keeps me motivated. Thanks! Enjoy!

P.S. All mistakes are mine. I edit my own stuff. Sorry for any mistakes.

DPOV

When Daryl's eyes opened, the first thing he noticed was his arms wrapped around a very warm and very soft Beth Greene. This was the first time she hadn't snuck out of bed before him and as he lay there he began to notice how they were laying. At some point he had wrapped one hand around her waist and his hand was tucked securely between her thighs, the back of his hand touching the gauze he'd taped over her wound.

His other arms was curved over her ribs, his hand holding her breast with nothing but the thin cloth of her tank top between their skin. He took a moment to pull her closer, as close as he could get her, and pressed his face to the side of her throat, inhaling slowly and deeply before exhaling again. His fingers flexed at the smell of her, that familiar smell of coffee and vanilla and cherries. He'd never understand how she always smelled like that, how she smelled so good in the middle of the end of the world.

She arched against him as his fingers dug into the soft skin of her breast and thigh, making a sound between a moan and a whimper. He groaned lowly, growing hard against her back. He flexed his hips, an involuntary reaction that didn't require much thinking on his part.

"Daryl, if you keep this up I'm not gonna have to think. I'm not gonna be able to think." Beth said in a hoarse voice.

Slowly, he relaxed his hold on her, her words tempting him. He couldn't resist dragging his hands away from her. Touching the bend in her leg where thigh met hip, fingers grazing a hardened nipple. She did moan then and he felt a smug grin take over his face for just a minute. He quickly straightened his expression before Beth could catch him and give him hell.

As he stood up out of bed he felt Beth roll over and he looked over his shoulder, catching her eyes with his.

"You need to take it easy, so you don't reopen that wound, it's healin' good." He said as he slipped his jeans over his hips. "I'ma check out a few o' these houses today. I know you said you and Morgan ain't have much of a chance to do it before."

"Okay." She said with a yawn. "I think I might read or somethin'. I can't jus' lay here bored."

He nodded as he slipped a wife-beater over his head. As he pulled it down to cover his chest and stomach he felt Beth's eyes on his back and he looked over at him again.

"Why angel wings?" She asked in a low voice, unsure.

With a shrug of his shoulders, he turned back around to pick up his t-shirt. He thought maybe he'd been comfortable with his scars now, and he was, but he wasn't sure how to answer her question. He had no idea what to tell her about the things he'd felt, the things he'd done, when he thought she was gone forever.

"I've seen the other scars, Daryl. I've seen all of them." She said from behind him.

He jumped when he felt her fingers graze his forearm and the four letters there. Her small fingers continued down the inside of his arm, to his wrist, and traced the straight lines there. The only real straight lines, the first scars he'd made when he'd thought about dying. When he'd considered ending it all.

Beth moved around him, stopping only when she was directly in front of him, and pulled the t-shirt from his hands. She kept her eyes down as she traced over the scars, starting at his hands, his scarred knuckles, and moving up over his wrists, his forearms, his biceps. When she had touched all the scars that were bared to her she looked up at him finally and he was surprised to see the tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She told him.

"For what?" He asked her in confusion.

"For hurtin' you so much." She whispered. "For makin' you feel like this."

Daryl did the only thing he could do and pulled Beth into his arms in a tight hug. He pressed his face to her hair and breathed her in as he just held on tightly. After a moment, they both pulled back slowly and looked at each other. Beth lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his lightly, a chaste kiss. She pulled back and smiled softly, seeming more at ease.

"Be careful out there." She told him before moving to get back in the bed.

BPOV

With a huff, she threw the book down onto the bed and pressed her hands to her eyes. It wasn't the books fault. It was no one's fault really. How was she to know that the house only had romance novels? It's not like that was a priority when scouting where you were going to stay in the apocalypse.

But now, her skin felt hot and there was a very light throb between her legs. This abstinence thing had never bothered her before. The last time she'd had sex before the end of the world was at Jimmy's house. It had been fumbling and awkward and she hadn't got much out of it because they were both terribly inexperienced. But she hadn't minded because he'd been sweet and gentle and it had felt good. Just not good enough to get her off.

Of course, she'd touched herself before and after that. She knew what she liked but she'd been too embarrassed to share those thoughts with Jimmy at the time. So she'd touched herself a few times. Then they were on the run and she hadn't really thought about it. It wasn't the time or place for such things.

When they'd found the prison, she'd managed to be alone a few times but not often, there were too many responsibilities. Zach had come along and they'd had sex twice and it was better, he had more experience. But not much more. Plus, it was the end of the world and they didn't have the leisure of time like she'd had at Jimmy's before everything went to hell.

Then she'd been on the run with Daryl and oh, boy, did she think about it then. Who wouldn't? Daryl may have been a dick at first but he was manly and muscular and sweaty and she couldn't help it. Even when he was pissed off and yelling, she wanted him, maybe even wanted him more than what she usually did. And when they'd fought. Oh. She'd had so many sex dreams about him she was surprised she hadn't propositioned him in her sleep.

But at the hospital she never really thought about sex, not unless she couldn't sleep and she'd be thinking about her family and then Daryl and that ruush of arousal would hit her. On the run with Morgan, after she'd been shot, she didn't think she'd ever think about sex again.

Now, she knew what sex with Daryl was like and it was spectacular.

Sitting up in the bed, she shoved the book to the floor and got up. She couldn't stay in bed, the bed that smelled like Daryl, and keep her head straight. So, she pulled a pair of leggings on and added socks and a thin sweatshirt, before walking down the stairs and looking around the house.

Brutus had left with Daryl, having become attached to him since it was only the three of them. Seeing that the house was a little messy from being uninhabited for so long, she took the opportunity to straighten some things up. As long as she didn't strain her muscle, the wound shouldn't reopen.

So, she filled a bucket with some water and grabbed a few old scraps of cloth so she could wipe everything down. It felt good to do something besides lay around and think about regrets so she pushed those thoughts out of her head and focused on her work as she hummed.

She was done with the living room and working in the kitchen when she heard the front door open. Her hand was already on her gun that she'd lay on the counter when she recognized the familiar footsteps followed by the clack of nails hitting hardwood.

"Beth?" Daryl called out.

"In here." She said, prepared for him to try to lecture her about staying in bed.

"Whatchu doin' up?" He asked her gently.

When Beth looked over at him and noticed the way he was looking at her. It wasn't desire, though she could see that clearly in the way his hands twitched and his eyes skipped from her hips to her face. His brow was furrowed and he wasn't frowning exactly, it was more of a thoughtful expression. Like he was concerned. She felt her heart skip and then swell with emotion and without a word she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You feelin' okay?" Daryl asked her with his lips pressed to her hair.

"I'm fine." She answered automatically.

"You sure? I never really asked about yer hands after-" He trailed off and Beth pulled back slightly.

Looking up into his eyes she saw a mixture of concern and anxiety. She wasn't used to these emotions from Daryl, when they'd been alone he'd started to open up but he was still guarded. Now, he didn't hide anything from her.

"My hands healed fine. They were jus' bruised and scraped. You know how that is." She smiled slightly.

"And?" He asked as his brow furrowed.

"The bullet wound? It was jus' a graze, Daryl. Barely bled." She told him. "See?"

Stepping back further, Beth grabbed the waistband of her leggings and pulled them down a little ways, her panties going down, too. When the material was below her hipbone she ran a finger along the faint pink scar where Kayla had shot her. She wasn't expecting Daryl to reach out and run his finger along the same path. Her breathing stopped as a path of fire blazed along her skin.

Unexpectedly, Daryl dropped to his knees in front of her. The thought of moving backwards crossed her mind fleetingly but it floated away as his warm breath hit her skin. His blue eyes looked electric as he stared up at her. She almost swore she could see lightning flash in the stormy depths as the air around them seemed to crackle.

When his soft, pink lips touched her skin the breath she'd been holding came whooshing out of her lungs. She felt shaky as he pressed his lips more firmly against her scar on her hip. His lips parted and she felt a cool wetness as his tongue grazed her skin before his teeth gently nipped at her flesh.

"Daryl." She whispered, knowing they needed to stop before it got out of hand.

She moved her hand away from the material of her leggings, intending to pull them back in place, and Daryl's hand quickly replaced hers. Biting her lip, she swallowed the whimper that tried to escape. He was still looking into her eyes as he slowly moved his lips across her skin. The caress was almost too much for her and she felt her legs begin to shake.

Daryl smirked against her as he licked a slow trail between her hipbones. His teeth followed and Beth was soaking wet. She fought not to squirm when his mouth started to move lower, his hand pulling her panties and leggings even lower.

"Daryl." She whimpered, wanting him and also wanting him to stop.

"Tell me what to do and I will, Beth." He told her, his warm breath on her moist skin.

Chills covered her body and she shivered.

"We have to stop." She managed to whisper hoarsely.

"Okay." He said.

Before he stood up, Daryl placed one last kiss against her lower stomach and readjusted her clothes. She drew in a deep breath as he walked over to the table and removed his crossbow. Beth let herself watch him for a minute, unashamed of her lust for him, before turning to their supply of food.

"What's for dinner?" Daryl asked her as he sat down in a chair and scratched Brutus behind the ears.

"Pemmican and rice." She answered as she stirred the pot on the wood stove.

"Where'd you learn about that stuff?" He asked her curiously.

"What? Pimmecan?"

"Yeah."

"I'm surprised you don't know about it. But I learned it from my dad." She told him with a shrug.

He made a noncommital noise and she started to dish up their dinner. They ate quickly and cleaned their plates before it started to get too dark. Silently, they made their way up to their room, Brutus following and laying down on the pallet they'd made him.

Beth removed her sweatshirt and leggings so she could check her bandage. Daryl had already undressed on his side of the bed and walked over to her. The wound seemed to be healing good but there was blood on the gauze so Daryl helped her change it before they crawled into bed. If Beth had been worried about things being strained, she wasn't worried now as Daryl pulled her to him, her back against his chest, and held her tightly in his arms. Things were slowly starting to look up.