A/N: First of all, a huge thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited and followed this story! It truly is amazing! Second of all, I'd like to address some of the reviews personally. There was a mistake (ups :p) in the description of the story, since it said it was complete, because it was only going to be a one-shot, but then I decided to write some more, and forgot to change it. So sorry! Then I'd like to address the fact that Beth seems so weak: she was held a prisoner for God knows how long (I do, hihi, and I'll tell you in due time), and then she was all alone for quite a few days… that's bound to take a toll on her sanity, even if just a little bit (she was, after all, one of the most innocent characters).

So… that's what I wanted to make clear. Bear with me, I'm not that good with long stories, but I'm really trying to make this one a good one ;) All the suggestions will be highly appreciated, and all the reviews were amazing! Truly! It's so awesome to see a story take flight like this one :D Kisses, enjoy!

Three days passed ever since that fateful night. Beth got stronger and stronger, and her fever broke down at the end of the second day. To everyone else, everything seemed to be finally coming into place. But not to Beth, and certainly not to Daryl.

Beth dreamt of the kiss every single night after it happened. All the dreams ended the same way: Daryl rejected her, and she was left there, all alone, in the middle of a forest that looked suspiciously like the one they were in, sad as she had never been before. She felt such a girly girl. Especially because nothing like that had happened. The morning after they kissed, Daryl had woken up earlier than usual, left her his vest covering her shoulders and neck, and she hadn't seen him until he came to give her a piggyback ride – which offered her quite enough time to give a crimson tone to her cheeks and to grasp the horrible realization that she had, well, kissed Daryl Dixon. Every time she thought about it, she gasped in embarrassment and hid her face, even when she knew no-one was looking. It was, to say the very least, frustrating. When he finally did come to – literally - pick her up, she accepted his offer politely and without staring him in the eyes. The whole walk was awkward, and Carl was the only one talking. Later that evening, they heard him ask Rick if extreme exhaustion could rob people of their ability to talk, and if it was in any way contagious.

Now, three days later, with Beth already on her feet and graciously walking beside all of them with more energy than Carl – except for the few times when her bruised legs and stomach throbbed painfully from tiredness, not that she'd ever admit it - , they found a safe-looking river and decided to camp there for the night.

TWD

Daryl Dixon groaned to himself for the umpteenth time that day. Or at least he thought he did – it was only when Rick eyed him questioningly that he realized he might not have been as quiet as he previously thought. As they stopped near the shallow river, he kicked a rock into the water and all eyes fell on him. He shot everyone an apologetic glance, and slapped the back of his head mentally. What the hell was wrong with him these days?

Beth. Beth Greene was what was wrong with him. As much as it killed him to admit it, he hadn't been able to think about anything else but the sweet kiss she'd planted on his lips, unannounced as a ray of sun on a rainy day. He'd gone to sleep happy, and woken up terrified. It had just been too much in very little time. With the small, cheerful blonde, he always felt like he was on a rollercoaster… and it terrified him.

He had always been taught not to care; when you care, bad things tend to happen, and good people tend to disappear: they either died on their own, or got killed, especially these days. But then Beth had stormed into his life, all bubbly and hopeful, and he'd gotten used to being just the tiniest bit happier when she was around. Well, turns out happiness was kind of addictive: when Beth got kidnapped, his sole reason to smile went away with her. And he had to deal with a sense of failure that overpowered his entire being. Where did he go next? What would he do? Why would he even do anything? She was probably… hum, he still couldn't say it. She could have fucking died, and it would have been all his fault.

Then she came back. Beth came back to him, barely scratched compared to what had been going through his mind, and he got a second chance. A second chance to protect her, and, let's face it… a second chance to be happy. It didn't bother him at all that she had depended so much on him the first few days; it would have bothered him a hell of a lot if she hadn't let him be there for her.

And then there was the kiss. Way to get things all scrambled up, sweet'art. Way to pick up on the tiny smiles he sent her way and hoped she never got their meaning. Way to read his thoughts, and choose the ones that pleased her the most – did he want to kiss her? Yes. Did he want her to kiss him? Most definitely. Did he feel good about it? He groaned. Unquestionably… not.

The worst thing about it, though, had been the sudden distance between them. With Beth able to walk on her feet, he walked around always glancing her way, always on alert, and always on edge. He had no claim to her, now, at the lack of a better way to phrase it, and he had no excuse to spend time with her. She was okay, and he was with the guys. And she'd kissed him, and he knew that if he got near her he'd kiss her back.

He sat down on the grass, the chill breeze cooling his thoughts. No matter how hard she tried to convince him otherwise, he knew he wasn't a good man. He knew he was no good for her, and no amount of words could change his opinion. And even if he felt deserving of her in such a way, there was still the matter of his age. They were living in a different world now, surely enough, but he couldn't shake the thought of any eventual relationship with Beth being made into a paria by the community. She didn't deserve it, and he wasn't about to commit the ultimate selfish act and give into temptation. He would just focus on making her happy. And, at the end of the day, that would mean he was happy as well. As long as she kept smiling at him, he would be okay with whatever life brought him.

That's happiness for you.

TWD

He walked right past her. As they were ready to set up camp, he went past her as if he hadn't seen her, but stopped midway. Sighing, he walked a few steps back to where she had stopped to stare at him. His eyes met hers, and he ignored the confused look she was giving him. "Glad to see ya well." Pinching her cheek, between fond and playful, he all but sprinted towards Rick and Glenn.

TWD

Beth set up camp with Michonne and Carl. There was no reason for her to keep her stuff next to Daryl's now, since there was another girl in the group. The Beth they knew would have been more comfortable near her than she ever would near Daryl. Not that anyone said anything… they simply gave her the options, and Daryl not speaking up in her behalf kind of spoke volumes. She had completely and utterly ruined everything with her feverish kiss.

"Michonne?" She asked, distractedly, while helping them clean the grass from all the rocks and roots that would hurt their backs if they slept on them. The older woman had just returned from talking with all the men, and brought bits of cooked rabbit for them to chew on.

"Yeah?"

Beth blushed a little, and Carl pretended he didn't notice, but smirked at Michonne, who already had a pretty good idea of what the talk would be about, and kind of welcomed the distraction. With Beth showing up all bruised, and Daryl being a wreck, they needed some uplifting. "How d'ya know…" She cleared her throat and sat down, looking at her knees. "How d'ya know when a guy likes you back? Y'know…"

Michonne snorted. "They act like complete assholes, for starters." She eyed the blonde curiously. "But you've had boyfriends before. Surely you already know that."

"W-Well, just two…" She stuttered. "And there are guys… and guys. Y'know."

Michonne laughed. "I do know. And I could be here all day, and all night, trying to explain you all the ways he likes you." Beth's eyes widened in embarrassment and she choked on air. "But that would be a waste o'time, since I know for a fact he likes you back."

Beth turned crimson and coughed, solemn, trying to hide her face from the both of them. "I think you misinterpreted me. This is an entirely hypothetical situation." She stated, all business like.

"Sure." Carl snorted. "Sure, it is."

This wasn't turning out how she had hoped. She'd hoped for a lame response from Michonne, preferably one that made her realize Daryl didn't and wouldn't ever like her back. And, if she were very lucky, she'd realize in the process that she didn't like him at all like that. He was just a big brother, like Shawn had been. And then she grimaced… she never thought of Shawn like that. Bah.

"It is." Beth moaned, frustrated, taking off her shoes and massaging her feet. "It is hypothetical."

Michonne laid down beside her, taking in the stars that chose to shine bright that night. It was a rarity those days. "It's only hypothetical if you want. Contrary to popular belief – and by popular, I mean Daryl and only Daryl - , he's quite the gentleman, and won't move a finger unless you want him too."

Beth smiled a little bit, and only to herself.

Carl groaned. "Girls."

Michonne slapped the back of his head, ruffling his hair afterwards. "You'll like them someday."

Beth snorted. "He already does. Ain't that right, mister?"

That shut him up. Beth and Michonne chuckled, and Beth sighed as she contemplated all that had been said. All in all, at the end of the day, she wondered if she would ever be lucky enough to get to be with a man like Daryl.

TWD

Daryl wanted everything but to be where he was. All he heard around him were dirty jokes and manly-man remarks, which only made him focuse more on what he wanted to forget. It was true what they said about the forbidden fruit… damn, he was screwed.

"Gonna take a walk."

Glenn stood up with him. "Going with you."

"Nah… Eh, what the hell." He shrugged it off, since he knew Glenn wouldn't be dissuaded by his less than friendly demeanor.

They abandoned the group, which completely disregarded their announcement, save for Rick, who just told them to be safe. Settling for a spot near the water, Daryl sat down and groaned in frustration. Yeah, he was doomed.

"You wanna talk about it?" The Asian asked, quietly, intent on watching the flowless stream without disrupting its apparent peace.

"Not particularly, no." Daryl grunted in response.

"Suit yourself." He chuckled, but then his tone turned serious. "You know, I'd give anything, literally anything for Maggie to be here."

" 'S not the same, and ya know it." He ripped some of the tall grass from the muddy ground. "Not the same at all."

He didn't want people to convince him it was okay for him to like Beth any differently than he would a little sister. He didn't want them to make the effort, because he sure as hell wasn't ready to… he wouldn't be able to bear losing her now, and this was without untangling his complicated web of feelings. He wasn't ready.

"No, it's not." He agreed, and then punched the redneck's shoulder. "It's way fucking easier, asshole."

"How d'ya figure that, Einstein?"

"Maggie and I… we have a whole stream of those damned walkers between us. There's me, then there's a bunch of blood-sucking, ugly as hell creatures, and only then is my girl. My kick-ass girl, I might add." He smiled fondly, and then sighed, patting him in the back. "You're letting a world that doesn't exist anymore ruin your chance at happiness. She makes you happy… what else is there to think about?"

Daryl listened to him in silence. He'd intended not to hear what Glenn had to say, because he knew he was a hopeless romantic and therefore he'd be completely useless, but halfway through the conversation, he found himself contemplating it. There was no denying that she could do better. She was so damn innocent… well, as innocent as one could be after being kidnapped and beaten. Daryl winced at the thought. She was way more than he deserved. But maybe, just maybe… maybe he'd dare hope for once.

"We all could do with a daily dose of happy-Daryl more often than not. You're creepy grumpy when things don't go your way, man."

Daryl punched him back in the arm. "Funny."

"She makes ya happy." He smiled. "Stop making excuses, before you ruin it yourself."

A/N: So, this chapter was lighter than the rest. I wanted to change the tone a bit, make it fluffier and add a little interaction between them and the group, before it all turned to shambles (bad or good!) in the chapters to come. I also wanted to show you what I think they'd think in this situation, hence this highly reflexive chapter.

What did you guys think? Is there anything you'd like me to include?

THANK YOU for your amazing reviews, and favorites, and follows… they truly make my day!