Chapter 3 – Feel something

Daryl woke up when he felt jerking movements and heard whimpering sounds. He looked at Beth who was no longer in his arms; thrashing about and obviously experiencing a nightmare. He reached out and lightly shook her on the shoulder "Beth, Beth.." He called, softly. She continued moving around and she was hysterically crying now.

He shook her slightly harder this time and her eyes shot open and she sat up, tears streaming down her face. She looked around, shivering from the cool night air as she came back into reality. Glancing at Daryl, Beth sniffled. "I- I dreamed that I was alone and everyone even you were dead." before throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck whilst burying her head in the crook of his neck; where his shoulder meets his neck.

Daryl placed his arms around the small of her back, pulling her to him. He hated to see Beth cry, damn bear broke his heart. He would protect her, physically and mentally. "S' alrigh'" he soothed, "I'm here, Nothin's gonna happen."

After a while, Beth's sobbing subsided and she pulled back from Daryl enough to look into his eyes. "M' Sorry Daryl. It's just... I couldn't cope if I lost you." She said, a frown on her face.

"I won' ever leave ya, Beth." he confirmed, his voice raspy from lack of use. Beth nodded and cuddled into his side more, still shivering slightly. She placed her head on his chest and her arms back around his torso. Once she was comfortable, she sighed softly. "Hmm... you're so warm, Daryl."

Daryl smirked and placed his arms around her waist, clutching her tightly. "S' cause I'ma wolf, We're always warm."

"Well it's nice for me, 'cause I'm always warm now." She beamed.

"Oh so ya think i'm ya new body warmer now huh?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, and you better get used to it because I'm always gonna be sleeping next to you."

"That so? I'm gettin' the feelin' tha' i'm bein' taken advantage of." He gave her a half smile.

"Not just because you're warm, Daryl. I like sleeping next to you... You're comfortable" he chuckled and she continued "You make me feel safe and I just feel better when I'm close to you." Beth explained, blushing. Daryl didn't know what to say, no one had ever wanted to be near him out of choice and he had never had anyone rely on him like that before.

"I like bein' around ya too." He murmured, barely audible. He felt Beth smile against his skin and he shuddered at the sensation of it. Before they both knew it, they had fallen asleep once again.

When Beth woke up, she was surrounded by Daryl's warmth. His arms were securely wrapped around her and their legs were tightly intertwined. She could feel Daryl's light breathing tickling the shell of her ear. Thinking back to last night when she made Daryl share the bed with her, she didn't think he would give in so easily, since when they camped out he made such a big deal of 'sharing body heat' as she called it. She laughed at the memory and thought about where they were right now.

Beth could easily stay like this forever. She would have easily, if she didn't have the sudden urge to use the bathroom. She turned around and glanced at Daryl's face. She felt endeared, he looked so peaceful when he was asleep, and so much younger. All the stress was gone from his face and Beth instantly felt a wave of guilt for how much she relied on him. She decided she would let him sleep for as long as possible; he clearly needed it since he was usually the first awake.

Beth gently detangled her legs from Daryl, trying not to wake him in the process. He stirred slightly before he tightened his hold on her. After a pause, she tried again. This time, Beth was successful. Daryl stirred again and turned to face the wall. Made sure he was still asleep before tip toeing over to the bathroom. She was still thinking about how adorable she thought he looked when he was sleeping. She wanted him to get as much sleep as possible. Changing into a werewolf must be exhausting.

Then, realisation hit her. Did she love Daryl? She cared about him a lot, and she wanted to be around him all the time. She couldn't deny she thought he was very attractive. They would both do anything for each other and Beth thought back to the conversation on the porch of the Moonshine shack; how Daryl had opened up to her. She knew that he rarely opened up to anyone, unless he really trusted them. Beth looked at herself in the mirror. She shook her head, thinking about how Daryl wouldn't feel the same way; he probably saw her as a younger sister. She picked up some fruity smelling cream and tried to open the bottle. The bottle slipped from her hands and fell onto the floor. She prayed it didn't wake Daryl up.

Once she had finished in the bathroom, she crept back into the bedroom and noticed he had rolled back over, still asleep. Beth crept back into the bed and turned to face him. She reached out and softly brushed his jaw, his cheek and back down to his shoulder. She liked the feel of his skin underneath her fingertips. His eyes fluttered open and he smirked at her. "What are ya doing?" She jumped and put a hand on her heart. His voice was gravelly from sleep.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked, still startled.

"Long enough ta know ya went ta the bathroom an' dropped somethin'" he chuckled.

She playfully swatted his arm. "I'm so sorry." She put her hands on her face.

"Nah S' alright, I need ta get up..." He said, rubbing his palms into his eyes. "Ya can stay here if ya want."

"No, I'll join you." Beth smiled. Beth stood up and stretched, following Daryl down to the kitchen of the funeral home. Beth started to rummage through the cupboards. She collected some jars of jelly and some cans of beans. Daryl was watching her until she tried to reach for a can of peaches on the top shelf. Her cardigan had risen up so that a sliver of her creamy skin was showing. Daryl felt his face heat up and he tried to avert his gaze from it. He wondered if her skin was soft and suddenly felt an urge to touch it. Shaking his head violently, he walked up behind her and grabbed the can down for her. His hand brushed her side slightly and it felt like an electric shock on her skin.

"Shouldn' be puttin' too much weight on tha' ankle." He pointed out, opening a jar of pigs feet. He sat down in one of the chairs and watched her walk over to the other one. He dipped his finger into the jar and licked it.

"Gross!" Beth mock scolded as she watched him, contently.

He smirked at her and defended himself "I am half animal ya know."

Beth laughed as she watched him licking his fingers, mesmerised by it and was thinking about other things that he could be licking. She turned red at the thought and looked down at her peaches. What was wrong with her? She thought.

Daryl was fidgeting around in his chair and Beth wondered if he hated being stuck in a house since wolves didn't live inside. "Daryl?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you hate living inside a house like this, since you're a wolf an' all?" She paused. "I mean- they aren't exactly house pets.." She smiled.

His eyebrows knitted together in thought before. "It sure as hell ain't easy, but can' do much 'bout it.." He shrugged to which Beth nodded.

"Well you look uncomfortable, you can go for a run or whatever if you want. Don't wanna trap you." She smiled. Daryl looked at her, he was thinking deeply from what she could tell.

"M' not leavin' ya by yerself. Somethin' could happen."

"No. It only did last time because I left the house. I know you can protect yourself. I'll stay in the house, I promise."

"Alrigh'" "If yer sure." Daryl looked at her and gave a silent look of approval and Beth nodded.

"Yeah i'll be fine. I'm gonna keep myself busy." Her voice calm as she looked at him.

"I'll be a few hours, rest that ankle, Greene." He smirked at her.

"Yes sir." She joked.

Daryl nodded before exiting into the hall. He quickly put his clothes down by the entrance and opened the front door and popped his muscles a few times; contracting and relaxing into his other form before running off into the forest.

Beth was looking through the house for anything interesting or that would pass the time. She had found a box labeled 'films' and was looking through the box. She had found some good films: Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, Jaws, Jurassic Park and Dawn of the dead. Beth scoffed, thinking about how Zombies did actually roam earth now. She also thought about the time that she had snuck downstairs to watch Dawn of the Dead when Shawn and Maggie had watched it. If her Daddy would have found out she would be in trouble. She smiled and looked around the house more more things to occupy her.

Looking around the house, Beth found a another box, but this one was filled with photos of people that used to co,e here in another world. There were photos of weddings, christenings, and other types of celebrations. Beth wished she had a camera, one to take photos of the people that she had lost. Her Mama, her Daddy, Shawn, Andrea, Lori. She also wanted one for the happy moments like Maggie and Glenn getting married, Judith, Carl and Rick and everyone else that was her family.

She got up and decided to do something useful. After putting the cans outside, she went to the back of the house and went out into the garden area. There were a few graves and a line of trees at the bottom that lead to the forest. She was looking around when something caught her eye. There was a well to the right of the house and she decided to see if it was connected to the water pipes of the funeral home. To her surprise, it was. A huge grin covered her face and a small squeal left her lips as she quickly ran inside and decided to try the taps. To her success she had running water and decided to take advantage of this luxury and have a bath upstairs. Beth collected some towels and shampoo from the bedroom before heading into the bathroom.

A few hours had passed since Daryl went out and when he came back, he was feeling much better. He wanted to check on Beth before he changed back, just to be safe. He walked into the hall and couldn't hear anything. He looked around the kitchen and she wasn't there but he saw that she had out the cans outside to collect rainwater which would definitely help them out. Daryl made his way to the stairs when he heard the sound of water. He started to creep up them, one by one. He was at the top of the staircase when he heard some sort of humming and knew that it was Beth. Slightly relieved, he waited outside, in the hall to see what she was doing.

As if on cue, the door opened and Beth emerged, in nothing but a towel clinging to her slender frame, her hair dripping down her back. Being a wolf he could smell her straight away; she smelt like honey and strawberries. It made his mouth water, even in this form. He could see the creamy skin of her legs that seemed to go on forever and he wanted to touch them. She was perfect. But this was Beth Greene; Hershel's daughter. A man he respected highly. Hershel would be ashamed of him.

Beth jumped a mile when she saw Daryl; obviously not expecting to see a wolf in front of her. "Oh my god! Daryl you scared the life out of me!" She breathed, placing a hand on the frame of the door to steady herself. "Look! We have water! I found a well out back and it was all connected!" She rambled. Daryl would never admit it but he though it was cute, the way she was so happy because she got some water. He scowled at her and she dropped her hands. "I know I shouldn't of left the house but I was just curious..." She lowered her head. He made a noise and she looked up."I'm gonna get changed, you can.." She gestured to the bathroom. "Use the bathroom if you want." She smiled as she reached down and patted his head.

Ahe lightly stepped into the bedroom before Daryl grabbed some clean clothes and traipsed into the bathroom. He slowly and painfully changed back and sighed before stepping into the bath. He was desperately trying not to think about Beth's large doe eyes and her pretty smile, her golden locks dripping as they trailed down her back. He thought about her creamy legs and how he wanted to touch her; God he wanted her. He was starting to get riled up when he suddenly thought of Hershel and it all stopped completely. Rinsing off and drying with one of the towels that Beth had left, he left the room to go and find her.

Daryl knocked onto the door. "Beth, ya decent?"

"Yeah, come in." She responded.

Daryl opened the door and was stunned slightly. Beth was stood in front of a full length mirror, wearing a pale yellow sun dress and she had her wet hair tied into a messy bun. She couldn't have looked more beautiful, he thought. She was trying to clasp her necklace around her neck but appeared to be struggling. She turned around to face him. "Daryl, could you?" She gestured towards her heart locket.

He looked awkward but before his mind could process anything, he found his head was nodding. Beth walked over to him and handed him the piece of jewellery. Daryl was stood there, with his hair dripping wet, covering his piercing blue eyes. She started having thoughts, inappropriate ones about Daryl. She wanted him; she couldn't deny it. Daryl slowly joined the metal around her neck, his fingers brushing her neck in the process. Once finished, he stepped away from her slightly and started to chew on his thumb nail, nervously. "Done." He mumbled.

"Thank you.." She smiled at him. Beth was walking over to him when she put her hands on his face, cupping it in her palms. "I didn't just mean for the necklace... I mean for everything, Daryl. I'm glad I left the prison with you..." She started absentmindedly chewing on her bottom lip, and it was killing him

He scoffed. "Ya can take care a yerself, Greene. Ya don' need me." And Beth hated it when he did that. Brushing off any kind of good thing that he did. Beth was grateful and he deserved recognition for what he does for the group.

Beth was shaking her head. "No Daryl! Don't do that! Don't brush off the things that you do for people as if they are nothing! You deserve credit, You're such a good person, Daryl. You've proven that so many times. You-" she was cut off when his lips crashed against hers.

Daryl couldn't take it. He had never had someone care about him so much in his life. But when this small, blonde woman came into his life she pulled him out of the dark, destroying his demons in the process. He knee this was wrong, so wrong, But he wanted no needed something good, and that was Beth Greene. He had to have her, taste her. So that's what he did.

Beth was shocked. Absolutely stunned in fact. She was about to kiss his cheek, thinking that he would find the lips too uncomfortable. But she was wrong. So wrong. She had wanted to kiss Daryl for such a long time and now she felt that everything was being released. Beth couldn't believe it; she was kissing Daryl Dixon. She couldn't be happier in that moment, Daryl felt the same way that she did. She wanted to be as close to him as possible in that moment.

The kiss started off soft and chaste, but then it turned needy and passionate. Beth put her hands around his neck and Daryl put his on her waist. She let out a soft moan and he felt all of his blood go south. She moved her hands up to his hair and tilted her head to get more friction. Their tongues were battling for dominance and Beth bit down onto his lower lip and his breath hitched into his throat. They pulled apart and that was when Daryl knew. Beth Greene was going to be the death of him.