Daryl

If he thought that the biggest thing that happened to him that day was being trapped inside a car surrounded by walkers, he'd thought wrong. When Daryl, Aaron and Morgan had come back to Alexandria they'd gone straight to Deanna's backyard where they knew the hearing for Rick's "incident" with Pete was taking place and what they saw was totally unexpected. Deanna's husband, Reg, was lying on the ground with his throat slit in a blood bath, Deanna herself was devastated at his side, while an agitated Pete was wielding Michonne's sword like he didn't even know how it got in his hands to begin with. The blade was wet with blood. The next part had been quick; in tears, Deanna had asked Rick to "do it" and so the sheriff aimed his gun at the doctor and shot him right in the head. What a nice first impression they made on tame Morgan. Only it wasn't a first impression at all since they'd found right after he saved their asses that Morgan had already met Rick before. Call it a crazy coincidence.

Later, Daryl had learned from Michonne about what led to the harsh conclusion of the hearing. He's so tired but he needs to do one more thing before he can rest. It was Maggie that told him he'd find Beth at Rick's house, looking after the kids.

Daryl is on the front porch and he's about to knock when red droplets on the wooden floorboards catch his attention. He slowly turns his head and finds two bodies piled upon each other. Fear grips him. Rick had also said that some walkers got in by accident but that he'd fortunately killed them all before they could hurt anyone. He'd carried those bodies with him though, so what happened here?

"BETH!" he calls at the top of his lungs, pure dread in his voice.

He hits his fists against the door until there's a click on the other side and the door swings open. The second he sees her he moves to reach her, his hand touching Beth's cheek as if to make sure she's fine and actually there. "What happened? Are you okay?" he asks taking in the blood on her white shirt.

She nods. "Yeah, I don't know how those walkers got here but I took them out. Judith got a little scared but she's sleeping in her room now, Carl too" she explains.

"Are you hurt?"

She shakes her head. "No, I promise"

He nods recomposing himself. She's alright. Beth places her own hand on his, still on her face. "Are you okay?" she asks, her blue eyes focused on him, her voice a little concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You just got back?"

"A while ago, I stopped by Deanna's house first."

Daryl proceeds by telling her what happened to Reg, how the walkers got in and about how Alexandria's newest resident, Morgan, was an old acquaintance of Rick's. Beth is saddened to hear about Deanna's husband but she's ultimately glad that Rick will not have to leave. When he finally returns, Beth can leave followed by Daryl.

They're by his room's door now, he's debating whether he should invite her to stay the night or not. "So...are your nightmares gone for good?" he asks casually, leaning against the door frame.

She shrugs. "I guess."

"This means you can sleep in your own room now, huh?"

Beth tilts her head to the side and glances at him curiously. "Daryl, are you saying that you've grown tired of me already?"

"That's not what I meant" he replies with a "tsk" sound.

Beth snickers. "Then what is it that you were trying to say?"

He rubs his head, feeling uneasy. He only emits a grunt, diverting his gaze from her.

She looks at him in disbelief. "Are we back to your muttered answers now? Tell me" she urges, clearly amused.

Daryl blows out an exhausted breath, utterly annoyed by what he got himself into. Expressing his feelings was never his favorite thing, he's a man of action. Still, he manages to look at her, blue eyes pointed expectantly on him. "Do you want to sleep here?"

A smile slowly forms on her lips. "Yeah, I would love that. But is that all?"

"It's all"

"It's not" she answers right back, holding his gaze.

"Okay, maybe seeing those dead walkers on the porch was fucking scary and I thought that...that something could have happened to you." It's damn difficult to get the words out but it seems like Beth's got this disturbing ability of cutting right through his bullshit and evasive answers, so escaping just isn't an option. She's silent for a while, like she's analyzing what he just said. "I can defend myself, Daryl. I didn't even need Carl's help" she declares all-serious like it's very important that he gets it.

"I know. It's not that. I just...I didn't wanna lose you again."

The silence that follows seems to stretch on forever, again he doesn't find the strength to look at her directly. Beth inches toward him, closing the little space between them. She wraps her arms around his waist, forcing him to look down on her. "You never lost me. I'm right here, right where I belong" she almost-whispers.

The honesty that shines through her eyes is powerful, so much that he lets his walls crumble down. A world without her in it would be too much to bear. She gives him a reason to hold on, to hope in a better life. Sure, there's always that little voice inside his head that warns him of how much he'd suffer if she ever died, of how he'd never be the same again after really letting her in. But the fact is, right now he just doesn't care.

He shuts that voice up by pulling Beth in his embrace, needing to feel her as close to him as possible. Daryl kisses her lips, the weight of the day vanishing. He needs her like the air in his lungs, like the blood in his veins. As she grips at his back, he kicks the door open and leads her in without breaking the kiss. He pushes the door closed and backtracks until they both fall on his bed. Beth's on her back, he lowers his body on hers, as they keep on kissing, his fingers slipping under her shirt. But then Beth's hands move to his vest and work to slide it down. He automatically helps her by taking it off, making it fly across the room. Her attention shifts straight to the buttons of his shirt, undoing them as fast as she can. When he's shirtless and on his knees facing her, lying on his bed and ready for him, Daryl hesitates. Beth catches the doubt in his eyes and solves it for him, reaching for the end of her shirt and sliding it over her head until she's only wearing her pink bra and jeans. There's just never getting used to how breathtakingly beautiful she is. He leans on her again, his mouth trailing kisses on her shoulder, up to her neck while his hand travels over her ribcage, her waist, stopping when he feels the fabric of the jeans and hating them. "Are you sure?" he asks in a husky voice, just outside her ear. She nods vigorously, panting with every touch of his fingers on her body. It's all he needed to hear, now there's just no looking back. She wants him too. He unfastens her jeans and in two seconds they're gone, keeping company to his vest and shirt already on the bedroom floor. Beth gets rid of Daryl's pants, the anticipation for what will happen next growing more and more for both of them.

Daryl's nervous because he's never put his heart on the line like this before. Sex is one thing but making love is another, and what they're about to do is exactly that. As they connect she winces, so he holds onto her until her face relaxes and they move at the same rhythm. He forgets the world outside, the horror, the troubles. It's just him and Beth, far from it all. She makes him feel like he's good enough, like he's worth someone like her.

Beth

She rests her head between Daryl's shoulder and his chest, her eyes closes; his fingers absentmindedly playing with her hair. Perfectly content, that's what she is right now. Beth never knew love could feel this way. She won't say it aloud, it's not the kind of thing that they need to put in words to know it. She would have never let him so close to her if she didn't trust him and love him completely. It had been amazing.

Really, after a day like that all she wanted was to go to sleep and possibly see Daryl before doing so, but then he had actually showed up and her plans had changed. Standing outside his room, she wanted him to ask her to stay so badly, but wouldn't dare to make the first move, it was up to him; she'd intruded enough already. So when he did ask, Beth was already feeling victorious, if only the skittish look on his face didn't give away that it wasn't all. She pressed for more and she was right, he had something else to say. When Daryl had said that he was afraid she was hurt after fighting with the walkers, she'd briefly feared that he doubted her ability of taking care of herself. But the truth is that she needs to stop having such thoughts, Daryl knows her and believes she's tough. Hearing how he didn't want to lose her made her heart burst. She knows how he hates needing people, caring, because he's been hurt in the past for that reason. Whenever he loses somebody he loses a piece of himself, too. He must have been really angry at destiny when she went missing, he'd probably thought she was gone forever. Yet, there she is now.

When he kissed her, Beth knew she was never climbing those stairs up to her room. The feeling of his hands caressing her skin was too good to stop, she wanted to go all the way. He'd even hesitated before he undressed her, wanting to make sure it was okay with her. It was more than okay, so she tugged her shirt off herself to show him. Daryl had made her feel so safe and protected, something that she can't allow herself to feel in any other circumstance. But this was different, with Daryl she can say whatever she wants to say without being misunderstood or judged, she can let herself go and know he cares. Beth kind of already knew that but now she's had the final confirmation. It's risky to feel like this for someone, losing who you love can crush you. But it's also one of the things that she wants to desperately hold on to, no matter how long they have together. Plus, she could make it. She really, really, could. Not just another dead girl, after all.

And that's it folks! I really hope you all enjoyed the story and its ending. I wanna thank all the lovely people that took time to write reviews and to give me their opinions on where the story was going, you all helped me find the will to come up with more. let me know what you think of the last chapter if you like! xO