Hey Guys! Wow thank you so much, there are actually people reading (and probably liking ;) ) this story. I was so happy about reading your reviews. I'm really busy atm, but I spent most of my free time on working on this chapter!

This one's pretty long and I'm sorry for starting so slow, but there will be more action soon! But I like to create their relationship from scratch. I also made a sketch on how the story will continue and I there's a lot lying ahead. ;)

Enjoy! :*

xxx

They had been walking along for a while when Daryl carefully unfolded his hand from hers. In a touch of sympathy he had thought it was a good idea to walk hand in hand with her, to give her comfort and security, but now it made him feel awkward. Most of the time he had known her, he had felt a certain sympathy for her, but he had never been very close to her. The situation in which they had involuntarily been thrown together demanded much more intimacy from them, than they would usually been willing to give each other. He knew it would have been different with any other person from the prison. If he had ended up with Rick or Michonne, or even Maggie, they would have been much stronger. There would've been less responsibility left on his shoulders, they would be quicker and safer and it would be easier to not invade each other's personal space so much.

But now he had to care for her, pay twice the amount of attention to literally everything. He didn't blame her, it wasn't her fault. And he really did like her and wanted to keep her safe. But he needed her to learn, to grow and to be brave.

He noticed that she stared at him, that she was looking for a hint on why he had pulled his hand back from hers. But he didn't want to give anything away. She was sweet and said nice things to him, and he realized how effort she put into their forced relationship. She really wanted to make things good between them. Still it felt uneasy being so close to her. He had spilled his guts out to her the other night, but he had been very drunk and he knew they had crossed a line – at least he thought so.

He increased his pace to avoid her gaze. He felt guilty about being so grumpy towards her, but he couldn't afford to let any feelings take over him at the moment. When he would start a conversation with her, they would – sooner or later – end up talking about the people from the prison, Hershel, Rick, Maggie. Beth would grieve for her dead father and her lost sister, and it would remind him of his own brother and how no one he had known in his life before the apocalypse was still alive. Even though he usually didn't show it there had been people he had actually cared about. And it did hurt him to know them all dead or zombified.

He sighed at this thoughts. Stop it. Focus. They had to find food, this had absolute priority.

After a while they noticed a sign on the road which pointed towards a narrow dirt road. It said: Joey's Hunting Accessorizes & Grocery Shop – 1 mile.

His face brightened up. "Look," he said to Beth, "We should check this out."

He noticed a bright smile on her face, but then her expression got a concerned look. "Don't you think it got already looted?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, "But there's at least not many people using a crossbow. Maybe I can find some bolts there. And a better knife for you."

She nodded in agreement and they silently continued their walk. He noticed that she started to lope and it amused him. She could be so full of hope and optimism and it made him be a little bit more sanguine, too.

About fifteen minutes later they reached the shop. It looked more like a shack, but had a front porch and two floors and had once probably been very popular to campers and huntsmen who spent their holidays or weekends around. The windows were still intact, but the front door was unhinged. Carefully they approached the entrance watching their surroundings as well as as they tried to peek into the shop. Daryl withdrew his knife from his belt, and she followed his lead. When he reached the door she turned around to watch their backs. It would be awful to get trapped in the store, but their was no sign of a walker anywhere near them, and since they had been very quiet she was optimistic, that once they've gotten in, no one would follow them. Daryl carefully stepped into the small sales room. It looked overall filthy and there was a lot of shattered glass lying on the ground, but he also saw some still intact vitrines and shelves. The ground floor only contained the sales room and a small employes area that's door was unhinged too. He quickly crossed the empty room and checked out the backroom but it was also empty.

"Alright," he said and Beth quickly stepped into the store. He saw hope drop on her face, when she saw the looted vitrines and shelves.

"Looks as if we've come to late," she stated disappointedly.

He shook is head and started to browse the drawers behind the counter. He only found some small knives that weren't particularly helpful for killing walkers, but they could use it for others things. He turned around towards the vitrines. There were some guns left, but he couldn't find any ammo and also he didn't want to abandon his crossbow. He opened a once locked, but no broken cabinet and let out a small whistle of surprise. In it, a hunting bow and a quiver with arrows were attached to a hanger. His noise had attracted Beth' attention who had went through the grocery shelves.

"What's this?" she asked, even though she pretty obviously knew what it was.

"I think we found a nice weapon for you," he replied.

"For me?," she asked in shock, "I've never used a bow before!"

"Then I'll teach you," he said determined and released bow and arrows from the hangers. She took it reluctantly, but didn't protest.

He searched the rest of the cabinet but found nothing useful. The next cabinet contained a couple of drawers and he thought it must be their lucky day, when he found a pack of crossbow bolts and a long hunting knife.

"Nailed it," he murmured, then turned around to face Beth. "Did ya find anythin' useful, girl?"

"Just some tuna and apple sauce," she replied and Daryl grimaced. He hated tuna, as everybody left on this world seemed to do too, since every time they searched a store or a house for food they would find the obligatory can of tuna which nobody was willing to take.

When she saw the look on his face a small smile tug on her lips. "Tuna or starve?," she asked and caused the frown on his face to disappear.

"Not sure yet," he said a smirk playing on his lips. "Wanna check out the upper floor, too? Maybe we can stay for the night."

She nodded. He put the bolts into his backpack. Then he gave her the hunting knife.

"This is much better than the one you used before. Keep it at the ready."

She took it and nodded another time. "I'll cover you," she said determined and it sounded so sweet from her mouth that an involuntary grin appeared on this face. He quickly turned away so she couldn't see it. Actually, he was very proud on her. She started to take responsibility for them and she wanted to contribute something.

Quietly he walked upstairs but he was quite certain, that he wouldn't find someone upstairs. Even though they had been quiet, the sound of the shuffling through the drawers and shelves should've attracted a walker's attention. He carefully turned around the corner of the stairs. The upper floor contained a narrow hall and two doors. The first led into an empty bathroom that didn't even look too filthy. They were definitely not the first people who attempted to use the house as a shelter, still most of the looters had been more interested in supplies than in a place to stay. The second room was the bedroom and it didn't look too bad too. Of course it was pretty dirty, but the windows weren't broken and there was a bed. And it was still better to sleep in a dirty bed, than on the dirty ground, he thought. He turned around to face Beth who had followed him carefully.

"Stay?" he asked.

"Seems to be pretty okay," she replied. They grabbed the sheets from the bed and shook the dirt off. Then they repacked their bags and rearranged their weapons. Beth exchanged the sheaths for the knives on her belt and Daryl stashed the bolts on his crossbow. She let her fingers run over the material of the bow and then she turned it around to examine it.

"Tha' bow's pretty amazing. Ya very lucky to have it," he tried to encourage her.

She shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "Seems to be pretty difficult to handle."

A smile played on his lips.

"Isn't easy. But you can learn. Starting now."

She knitted her brows.

"I'd rather use the crossbow."

He smiled.

"Me too."

She darted a surprised gaze at him and then laughed.

"And we only have one, I get it."

"A bow's not to bad, y' know," he explained as they made their way downstairs. "It's quicker than a crossbow and easier to draw."

He was happy they had something to talk about that would distract her from their problems. When he showed her how to nock the arrows and aim, she was very concentrated. Actually the bow was too big for her and she had some difficulties to draw it, but he knew that she would add some muscles soon.

Her first attempts in hitting an aim were pretty poor and he noticed that she got frustrated.

"It's too difficult," she complained. "I'm not strong enough."

He sighed. "You'll grow stronger."

She wore an angry expression on her face, but nocked another arrow. She aimed for a while and then let the bow sink again.

"I can't do it. It's to heavy and I can't keep my arms still."

"Come, I'll help you," he said and stepped behind her. He lay his arms around her slender figure and grabbed hold of the bow under her hand. He noticed her stiffening for a moment, but then she lifted the weapon again and he helped her to draw the bow.

"Now aim. I won't help you with that."

He could feel her concentration. He imagined how she would knit her brows and squint one eye and he thought about how sweet she looked. He could feel her warmth against him and he inhaled the smell of her hair. When she finally released the bowstring, reality struck him.

She let out a happy squeal, "I hit the mark!"

He nodded in approval still confused about what had just happened. He had lost his train of thought, he had been distracted by her.

"What?" she asked not being able to interpret the confused look on his face.

"Ugh, nothing. Good job."

She smiled wide and let out a small giggle.

"Let's do it again!" she challenged him while collecting the arrow. "I really need to practice!"

He wondered why she suddenly was so cheery. Moments ago she had been all whiney about using a bow and now she seemed perfectly happy. Had she only needed the sense of achievement? Or... He didn't finish the thought. Bullshit, he told himself.

"What's up, Mr. Grinch?" she teased when he didn't make any attempt to help her again.

"Told ya, it's nothing. Ya need to practice by yourself. I can't hold the bow for you in a fight."

She furrowed her brows. "You only helped me once. How am I supposed to learn so quick? I don't think you got all pro on your crossbow in one day."

He made a vague movement with his hands then shrugged and stepped behind her again. Focus, he told himself. When she lifted the bow he fixated his gaze on the treeline not trying to look down on her. This was to close. He couldn't be so close to her. Not to her.

She fired some not-so-bad shots but he was relieved when it finally started to get dark.

"Let's have somethin' t' eat," he said. "We can continue to practice t'morrow. But then you'll go on your own."

He turned around and went into the house but he could feel her gaze fixing on his back.

xxx

They sat on the double bed and silently ate the tuna. Beth could see Daryl was choking on his portion and she wondered so many things about him. Why did he always try to push her away? She could understand that he wasn't to happy about being stuck with her, but he couldn't seriously want to live a life in silence. She knew that he was a lone wolf or something like that but she didn't want to believe that he didn't want any social interaction at all. She knew he had had friends at the prison, like Carol, Rick or Michonne. She knew he cared about people. Why was he so cool to her.

She knew they would sleep together on the bed tonight. There was no reason for one of them to sleep on the ground since it was uncomfortable and cold and they needed to get as many rest as they could. She knew Daryl would be all gentleman about her taking the bed, but she would protest and he would lie next to her. She passed him the apple sauce with a faint smile on her face and she saw his face brighten up a little.

"Ugh, I really need to get this disgusting taste out of my mouth," he said and she giggled softly. She wasn't fond of tuna as well, but she could imagine worse.

They ate the apple sauce in silence, everyone of them lost in their own thoughts. After they finished, Beth's stomach still ached for food but she didn't want to complain.

"Maybe we can do some hunting tomorrow?" she suggested.

He silently nodded, then stood up and left for the bathroom. She lay down on one side of the bed and turned her back towards the door. When he reentered the room she realized he hesitated. She turned around to see him fixing her with an odd expression on his face.

"Come," she said softly and patted the bed beside her. She could see him sigh softly then he approached the bed. She turned his back to him again and felt the bed shift under his weight. There was still a wide gap between them and even though she had liked sleeping so close to him the other night, she knew it was better to not invade his personal space more than necessary.