Authors Note: I'm super excited about the next few chapters! I've been trying so hard to stretch Beth and Daryl's relationship out as far as I can, but I just can't resist it anymore. I hope you love this chapter just as much as I do! :)

CHAPTER 4: Innocence

It had been a week or two since Daryl and Beth had kissed – nobody kept track of time these days, what with the undead keeping them on their toes. Their lives went on as usual – they scavenged around the area for food and supplies, they killed walkers, they bathed in the lake and they spoke in the evenings, however not a word had been spoken about their intimate moment. Both of them were desperate to ask the other how they felt, but neither had the guts to do so.

Daryl had decided that staying in one spot for so long wasn't the safest thing to do – they had to keep moving. Beth followed his orders, packing up one day and setting off in an unknown direction towards their next temporary home.

Their journey through the woods consisted of mostly silence, the main sound being the twigs snapping beneath their feet. The sky was clear that day, and the heat was intense. Daryl could feel a bead of sweat resting on his forehead.

"Les' rest up here for a bit," Daryl groaned, lifting the strap off his shoulder and dropping his crossbow to the floor. He threw himself onto the ground and leaned up against a tree, letting out a rather exaggerated grunt as he landed.

"We haven't been walkin' for long, Daryl. Why don't we jus' keep goin' for a little longer?"

Daryl groaned inwardly and attempted to stand up again, before Beth's voice spoke out.

"I'm jus' kiddin'! I'm exhausted," Beth giggled, throwing herself down beside Daryl, imitating his grunt in a rather un-ladylike manner. Daryl slumped himself back against the tree and sighed, trying to hide the smirk that was forcing itself onto his lips.

After a few moments of silence, Beth draped her arm over Daryl's stomach and snuggled herself into his side. He didn't move a muscle. His eyes widened and he panicked a little, his heart rate increasing by a thousand. Why did this have such an effect on him? The sensation of Beth's body pressed up against his side was immensely beguiling, but he had no idea why. She had hugged him before, so why was now so much different?

It was then that he finally looked down at Beth. Her eyes were closed, and she had a faint smile painted onto her face. Her blonde hair was spilling over her cheeks, and Daryl's thumb moved unintentionally to take the hair and brush it behind her ear. He did this slowly, tentatively, and it made Beth's face tingle with a familiar sensation. The soft touch of Daryl Dixon. She slowly opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering while she adjusted to the light. Daryl suddenly felt nervous – what would she think to him doing such a thing? Did he just make a move? Did he just push her away? The thoughts were racing through is mind and he unconsciously bit the inside of his cheek.

"Thanks, that was getting rather irritating," Beth smiled up at him.
"Why din'chya just move it yerself then?" Daryl asked, genuinely curious. Beth motioned towards her arm that was draped over his abdomen.

"'Cause my arm is occupied."

Daryl nodded, averting his gaze to the ground by his feet. Now what? He thought. He hoped that Beth would say something to break the silence, and just as if she had read his thoughts, she spoke.

"When should we start headin' off? We've been here a while. It'll start gettin' dark soon."

Shit. They had indeed been sat there for a while, and Daryl was letting his guard down again. Luckily, they hadn't been disturbed by walkers while they had been there, but that wasn't likely to last. Eventually, they would have to get moving again and find a place before dark. He looked back down at her, taking a moment to properly take in her eyes. Her eyes were a deep blue, but that came to him as an understatement. Saying that her eyes were blue was like saying that the sun was yellow. Sufficient, yet not at all accurate to capture the burning sensation they gave him. Her doe-eyed gaze at him made him aware that she had not experienced life like he had. She had not seen the things that he had.

"Mr Dixon?" Beth teased him. It was then he had realised he had been staring.

"Uh, right now. C'mon," he stumbled on his words, embarrassed by what he had just been caught doing. Beth smiled and removed her arm, and he instantly missed the contact. They both stood up and began walking again without another word.

…

"This'll do us," Daryl said, walking towards a small cabin they had come across. The sky was darkening and Daryl did not want to spend the night outside. Neither did Beth.

They stood by the front door to the cabin and Beth slowly opened the door, allowing Daryl in first – their usual procedure. He clapped his hands together to attract any walkers that could be lurking. To their relief, not a single walker resided there. Beth followed him inside and closed the door behind them. Daryl dumped his bag and crossbow onto the floorboards and Beth awkwardly lingered by the entrance, unsure of what to do. Why am I nervous? She thought to herself. She was never nervous around Daryl. She played with her fingers.

"You gon' stand there all day, girl?" Daryl exclaimed, catching Beth by surprise. Without a word, she walked away from the entrance and towards the ripped up leather sofa. She perched herself onto the edge of it, nervously bouncing her leg while looking around the dark room.

"Best get some light in here. Stay here while I go look for some wood," Daryl said, leaving the cabin without another word.

Beth let out a breath that she never knew she was holding. What the fuck? She was extremely confused as to why her attitude had changed all of a sudden. Maybe it was the new environment? Maybe she was beginning to realise how much she missed Maggie, and her dad? Or maybe it was a combination of many things? She just couldn't quite put her finger on it, until Daryl walked back into the house with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. God, he looked good like this. His arms were dirty and flexed as they carried the weight of the logs, and the moonlight somehow illuminated his muscle tone. His hair was damp and clung to his forehead and the back of his neck. His vest hung open, allowing full view to the half unbuttoned shirt that barely covered his torso. She longed to place her hands underneath the shirt.

Her gaze then lowered, examining his dirty, ripped pants that ruffled up at the bottom. She then brought her gaze back up to his face, only to find that he too was watching her. The motions of his eyes closing and opening was captivating enough, his stare met hers and for that infinite moment they were one, the space between them was meaningless.

Daryl dropped the logs and began making his way over to Beth, never dropping his gaze. Beth stood up from the sofa and walked to him, eager to close the gap between them. Once they had reached each other, Beth grabbed his vest and pulled him to her, pressing her lips against his once more. Daryl was both shocked and relieved to know that she wanted the same thing that he had wanted. But, his eyes widened when he felt Beth's tongue shyly asking for entrance into his mouth.

Wow.

He complied, opening his mouth. He placed his palm to the back of her head to pull her in deeper, and his other hand found its way to her waist. Her hands were still gripped onto his vest, and in that instant he realised that she was unbuttoning his shirt. She slid her hands onto his chest and let her palm lay flat against his abdomen which was breathing heavily. She smiled against his kiss. He felt a rush of heat and excitement at her touch, and that was when he felt all the blood leave his head and journey south. Daryl balled her hair into his fist and tugged lightly, breaking the kiss, much to Beth's displeasure, but not for long when she realised that his lips had simply ventured somewhere else.

Surrendering herself to him, she took in his strong scent as he passionately kissed down the sides of her neck, his lips teasing the pulsing of her throbbing heart.

She let out a small moan and Daryl thought that would be his undoing. The sound that exited her lips was that of an angel, and he found himself sighing into her neck while shivers tingled down his back.

"Daryl…"

He pulled away from Beth and looked at her, examining her expression. He worried a little, wondering if he had pushed her too far, or done something that wasn't right. He wasn't any good at this sort of thing in the first place, let alone when it was with somebody he cared about.

"Can we lie down? On the sofa, I mean… I wanna get comfy."

Beth's cheeks flushed at the request and Daryl groaned. This girl was going to ruin him.

"We ain't gotta go no further if it's too much. We can stop right now if you wanna," Daryl explained. He wanted to make it clear to her that he had no intentions of making any unwanted advances on her.

Beth smiled at him and took his hand, leading him towards the sofa. She sat down and leaned back, pulling him on top of her only to resume their kissing. Daryl was going wild. Beth broke the kiss and whispered into his ear.

"I want to lose my innocence to you. Tonight. Would you do that for me, Mr Dixon?"