"S'wrong?"

"Why ya always do that," she whispered, "Just let someone else take care of you for once."

"'M fine," he grumbled, nudging her toward the edge of the cot with his leg.

"That's bullshit, Daryl. Ain't nobody that wants to be alone all the time. Just people too scared of bein hurt to let anyone close."

She wasn't budging. This girl was stubborn, just like her daddy and her big sister. Once she had her mind set to something she wasn't gonna back down til she had her way. Daryl backed up against the walk and pulled his knees up, putting some much needed space between them. No girl had ever been this hell-bent on being close to him before. Definitely not a girl like Beth Greene. In another world, she wouldn't have looked twice at a man like him. He was old and dirty; she was young and smooth. He had no place being near a girl like her, especially not alone in the dark on his bed.

Gently, she rested a hand on his knee, "Just let me. If you hate it I'll never ask ya again, but just let me take care of you for once."

His head was in his hands and he was frozen. What was it about this girl sitting on his bed, touching him softer than anyone he could ever remember, that scared him so bad? Deep down he knew she was right. He was scared of bein hurt. Again. It had happened so many times already. His pa, Merle, the girls who used to try to bring him home. They all just ended up hurtin him in the end. He was used to it now. But this girl wasn't gonna take "no" for an answer.

So he let her in. He let his legs relax and stretch back out in front of him and left his hands awkwardly in his lap. Still, he couldn't look her in the eyes too long. If he did, he thought he might turn to stone or actually drown in them. Besides, if he looked at her too long he would remember how young she was and how wrong all this was. So he stared down at his hands in his lap, fidgeting nervously and waiting for her to make her next move.

"Lay down on your stomach and relax, Mr. Dixon. I promise I won't hurt ya," he could hear the smile in her voice and knew she was teasing him.

He did as she asked and rolled over onto his stomach. He felt her shift and straddle his hips. How long had it been since a woman had done that? He didn't even know. Maybe never. At least not since he was in his 20's. Beth hadn't even been born yet. He knew he should just stop thinking, but he never stopped thinking. Every day was constant for him. If he was honest, it was exhausting.

Her palms came to the hem of his tank top and she moved to nudge it up on over his head and she felt his breathing stop. She saw what he was so afraid of. Even in the dark she couldn't miss the angry, raised scars striping across his back. She had seen scars like that before. On that same horse that refused to be broken. When he came to their farm they were fresh but they had healed up just like this. Daryl was even more like that horse than she thought and maybe now she finally understood him a little.

She pushed his shirt up a little further, hushing him the same way she had that horse so long ago. Her fingers traced over the deep scars, the road map of where he'd been hurt. Without warning, thunder clapped outside, seemingly right over their heads, and made them both jump. Her hands gripped into his sides, and she inhaled sharply. He was still frozen, like a prey animal desperate to not be seen.

Beth saw him though. She saw all of him and she drank it in, unsure if she would ever get to see this again. She ran her fingers down his spine, tracing her own lines through the scores on his back and testing to make sure she wouldn't hurt him. He squirmed under her, trying to hide himself. What could she possibly want to see on his back? There was nothin back there but reminders of how broken he really was.

He couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes practically burnt him where he could feel her staring and pitying him. He reached back and moved her hands off of him, pulling his shirt down to cover up the remnants of his past. Without a word he rolled back over, jostling her off his tailbone, and pulled his knees back to his chest.

She shook her head, "Daryl, I-I didn't know."

"Now ya do. So go on. Run back to bed."

"No," her temper flared again, "don't you do that. Don't push me away. I wanna take care of you. Just tell me how."

He looked back up at her through his bangs and saw those big doe eyes looking back at him. It was like she could see straight through to his soul and it hurt. No one in his life had looked at him like that and it made him uncomfortable. Even though he was fully clothed, he had never felt as exposed as he did in that moment. Like someone had cracked open his chest and let her stare straight into his heart.

She reached out and cupped the side of his face, tilting his chin up to look into his eyes. Her heart was pounding through her chest and she knew there was no going back from here. Friends gave each other back rubs all the time. Hell, Maggie used to rub her feet when she first started gettin her period. But friends didn't do this.

There wasn't time for second guessing anymore. Her other hand came up to his cheek and she kissed him, soft as daisy petals. He couldn't think with her lips touching his. His brain turned to static and for the first time in years, he wasn't thinking a mile a minute. He felt himself kiss her back, felt his hand move to her hip and bring her closer to him. He knew these things were happening even though he wasnt the one coaching them. It was a beautiful moment of quiet in his head and he never wanted it to stop.