"Daryl..." Beth said, as they walked through the woods outside of Alexandria.

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you just sleep in my room every night?" She asked. The couch can't be comfortable," she added, watching him nervously.

Daryl thought for a long moment. If he moved into her room, it would be a lot of commitment. That meant something, a lot of something, actually. "Ya don' wanna live with me," he said.

"Yes I do, c'mon, Daryl. You're not going to be here much anyway and we don't get to come out here as much. My room is at least kinda private."

"A'right," he agreed after a moment. He was still slightly conflicted about living with Beth, being as he had never lived with a woman. Definitely not one he cared about like he cared about Beth. She grinned and nudged his arm with hers.

"This'll be fun," she said.

"Mm hmm."

XxX

While Beth taught the little kids, Daryl had decided to stay out in the woods for a while. He needed time to think about everything. About how to process all of it. This was certainly going to be a change. He and Beth already lived under the same roof, but nowadays that was not such a big deal. Living in one room, sleeping in one bed, that was a big deal.

After a while, Daryl went back to the house they all shared and picked up his duffel bag from the floor in the living room. He took his bag upstairs to Beth's bedroom. Unsure of where to set it, he put it at the foot of her―their bed. Their bed. He didn't know how he really felt about that. Yes, he loved Beth. He had never loved a woman like that, but this was a big step.

"Beth?" Maggie poked her head into Beth's room when she heard noise, but saw Daryl instead. "Oh, sorry, I thought Beth was home early."

Daryl shook his head in reply before saying, "No, it's jus' me."

Maggie saw Daryl's bag and just nodded. She didn't say anything about it, but she really was happy for the two of them. "Alright, I've gotta go meet with Deanna," she said, leaving.

Soon, Beth came home and saw that Daryl's bag was no longer downstairs, she smiled and went upstairs. The bathroom attached to her room had the door closed and she assumed Daryl was in there, after she noted his bag in the room. She took her hair down from her pony tail and brushed out her hair. Daryl walked out of the bathroom―having just have showered.

"Well hello," she greeted. "You showered."

"Mm hmm," she walked over and gave him a quick kiss. He kissed her back and she deepened the kiss―wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed her back, his arms around her waist.

"I love you," she murmured. The words had left her lips without her permission, but she didn't really care. He already knew.

"Me too," he said and she smiled. That was really close to saying it. Maybe he'd get there eventually, but for now, that was a step in the right direction. She ran her fingers through his wet hair, enjoying the fact that he actually showered.

"I was thinking about making dinner for everyone, did you catch anything earlier?"

"Just some rabbits. Haven't skinned 'em yet."

"Can you show me how to skin them?"

"Mm hmm," he agreed. They went to sit on the back porch at the picnic table.

"I used to want to live somewhere like this. Not necessarily the big houses, but like a community. I wanted to find a man to marry. Someone who made me happy, have a couple kids, and just live."

"An' now?" he asked.

"Now, I'm happy with what I have. I'm happy to be with you and even if we don't have a house to ourselves, we have a room. And, we have a loving family around us. This is all I need," she smiled.

"So 'm good 'nough?"

"Of course you're good enough! You're better than just good enough, Daryl! I'm in love with you!" Beth smiled happily and he had a little smile on his face. He preceded to show her how to skin a rabbit. The two did this in silence for a long while and Daryl ended up helping her make a stew. They had the house to themselves for a long while―Carol had taken Judith to work with her and everyone else was at their respective places. It was nice for the two of them, they were able to bond.

By the time everyone started coming home, the stew was done and they had also baked fresh bread for the group. When Carol walked into the kitchen, she looked surprised.

"I was just about to make something," she said. "You two didn't have to do all of this."

"We wanted to," Beth smiled. "Besides, we were home anyway," she shrugged. Carol smiled and nodded before going to set the rest of the table. This was as normal as it could get for them. There may have been dead people walking around everywhere, but they were able to have a home cooked meal.

Everyone gathered at the table and ate their meal. It seemed really normal―they were all talking about what they had done that day. Beth and Daryl sat side by side and Maggie tried not to stare at them as the two sent glances at one another. It was really sweet that the two had become so close.

"Do you like teaching the little kids?" Carol asked Beth.

"I do," she smiled. "There aren't very many of them, but it's nice to know that there are still kids around, y'know? It gives me a lot of hope. Do you like working in the pantry?"

"It's much different than what I'm used to, that's for sure," Carol replied.

This whole town was different for them, but it was nice. It was a nice change of pace―something that they needed to have in their lives.

AN: So there's that chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I think I'm going to have a few chapters between when season six started. I'm sorry if it's not the best, I'm really sick right now and I can't focus the greatest on something. Your reviews are loved and welcome―as well as ideas for the story! Thank you!