All was silent for a short while as Daryl lay unmoving beside Beth, still unable to relax enough to let sleep take over, but the time alone with his thoughts allowed his eyes to drift across her small body tucked away peacefully against his side. Constantly fighting the urge to run his hand along her arm and down her ribs to her perfect hip bone that was bare due to her shirt riding up. It made him almost groan just thinking about the things he could do to her even if he knew it was wrong. He wasn't even sure if given permission to do such things that he could bring himself to actually go through with it.

Something about the words she'd let sink into his head made him want to come right out and tell her exactly how he felt and he'd been biting his tongue the whole time she spoke to keep that from happening. He was grateful too that he'd kept his mouth shut. Afraid to accept the fact he had those feelings for the young woman in the first place.

His fantasizing was brought to a stop suddenly when a walker fell into the car, hard enough to wake Beth from her slumber with a scream that startled him more than the jolt of clumsy corpse hitting the car to start with. He instantly moved from his position to cover her mouth with his hand and in the process bashed the side of his head against the top of the trunk lid.

"Son of a bitch!" He hissed from the hit and winced, pressing down on Beth's mouth harder when she started to voice her protest in the state of panic. "Shhh, it's just me." He whispered, trying to get her to see she wasn't in any danger.

Daryl expected her to take a moment to catch her breath and get under control, but instead she leaped forward and tightly wrapped her arms around him. He automatically tense and drop his hand from her mouth. Sitting there in an awkward position with his arms at his sides for several minutes while he tried to make himself understand exactly what was going on. Hell he'd just been daydreaming about having his hands all over her and now that her body was flush against his he had no idea what to do.

It wasn't until he heard her soft sobs that he told himself to man up and pulled her against him tighter. Lightly rubbing her back to offer some sort of comfort as her crying manifested a pain inside his chest he was unfamiliar with.

Daryl wasn't sure if the pounding between them was from her heart beating erratically or his own trying to punch through his ribs at how nervous he was. There was never a moment he could recall where he had successfully dealt with a crying woman without wanting to run in the opposite direction and he was starting to doubt there was anything he could give Beth to calm her down.

Before he could offer her soothing words or soft touches Beth pulled away from him and looked down at her arm to see drops of blood, her eyes quickly darted up to notice the cut on the side of his head and gasped. "You're hurt." She said with a frown.

"I'm fine." He insisted. In the mix of everything Daryl had completely forgotten he'd hit his head and reached around to grab the handkerchief out of his back pocket while still keeping his hold on her.

He carefully wiped the blood off her arm and as he went to take care of the source Beth stopped him half way. Grabbing the handkerchief from his hand and gently dabbing at the cut that made him jerk slightly and shut his eyes. He took that time to distract himself with the realization of just how much he liked feeling her warm body against his, and the feel of her breath tickling his jaw that sent a tingle throughout his limbs.

"What happened?" Beth asked after she finished getting the bleeding to stop and shifted to get a better look at him. She reached up again a second later to gently wipe a smear of blood from under his eye and then moved away completely to go back to her original position where she'd been sleeping.

Daryl swallowed at the soft touch and cursed to himself at how much he missed her body against him when it was gone. Sitting up more, he answered. "Jumped when ya screamed an' forgot how difficult it was ta move in here."

Beth gave him a shy nod and curled herself up in a ball, letting out a sigh. "Sorry."

"Ya alright?" Daryl asked quietly, concerned. Wondering what had changed from her somewhat normal state a few minutes earlier when she had been taking care of him.

Beth didn't move. "Just thought they had gotten us..."

Daryl watch her a moment as her body trembled and her eyes kept scanning over to the crack in the trunk and back in his direction. It was too hot for her to be shivering from the cold and he could only assume she was uneasy. He was going to tell her she had nothing to worry about, but she kept acting like she wanted to say more.

"What is it?" Daryl finally asked, growing impatient.

Beth's eyes locked on his briefly before speaking. "Can I..." She paused and looked away, almost embarrassed to let the words go. "Can I sit over there...beside you?"

Had Daryl not been paying close attention he may of missed exactly what it was she'd asked. Her voice was soft and a little hoarse, but once he understood what she wanted he couldn't turn her away. "I reckon." He said with a shrug and started to move over.

After a bit of maneuvering they managed to both fit somewhat comfortably on the same side of the trunk and Beth slowly eased her way closer to him. Dropping her head against his shoulder and looping her arm across his stomach. Daryl didn't mind the contact at first. Not until her hand drifted a little too close to his belt buckle and he tensed, sucking in a breath at the way his body betrayed him.

"You seem to be handling all this pretty well, being stuck in here I mean... considering what you told me." Beth said while playing with a string on the bottom of his vest like everything was completely normal about her being wrapped around the redneck.

"Just good at hidin' it." Daryl responded, trying to figure out what to do with his hands. He once again felt like he was awkwardly sitting there while she had no problem with their close proximity. Finally he gathered the courage to slide the arm she had been leaning on around her back, placing his hand on her side carefully to not startle her and pulled her tighter against him.

"Is there anything else you're afraid-" Beth cut herself off before she gave him the impression she thought he was scared and reworded the question. "I mean is there anything else like this that bothers you?" She asked, looking up at him nervously.

Daryl shrugged and lifted his free hand to scratch at his stubbly chin. "Guess there's a few things."

"Like what?" Beth said a little too quickly, hoping it didn't give away just how interested she was on the subject. "If you're comfortable telling me..." She added, not wanting him to think she would push him to talk about something he didn't want to.

Daryl sighed and wondered if he should even bother telling her anything more about his up bringing. Nothing from it was pleasant and he didn't want her acting any different toward him. He definitely didn't want her to start crying again, and dragging up the memories was never something he looked forward to doing after burying them so deep. "Why ya care ta know?" He asked, hoping it might change the subject.

"I didn't know if talking about it would help...I'd hate to do anything that would trigger something bad for you..." Beth snuggled her head against his shoulder a little more, getting closer to the crook of his neck and it made him shiver involuntary.

Daryl cleared his throat and forced his mind to get back on track. Talking about his fucked up childhood seemed easier to do in that moment than to explain how her body was driving him crazy. "Dawn dish soap...the smell makes me wanna vomit, 'specially the orange kind." He admitted, looking around for some kind of distraction as thinking about it made his stomach uneasy.

Beth lifted her eyes up toward his face and crinkled her forehead in question. Trying to imagine how an object used to clean dishes would bother him so much.

He caught her look briefly and quickly turned away, tapping his palm against his bent knee when he realized she wanted him to explain. "Do we have ta do this?"

"Not if you don't want to." Beth made sure that was clear and squeezed his side gently so he knew she was serious.

With a sigh Daryl retracted his hand from his knee and took a risk to place it over hers that was resting on his side. Idly tracing her fingers with the tips of his as he composed himself enough to tell her something he'd never spoken a word of before. "Learned real quick not ta cry...or make a sound..." He began. "More of a beatin' usually came if I screamed, but sometimes he'd use soap ta keep me quiet." Beth felt him go stiff against her and she expected him to stop and that be the end of it, but he carried on. "...Made damn sure I didn't spit that shit out neither." His stomach tightened again. "Least not 'til I was locked up..." He could remember the rash the soap caused on his chin and chest once he was able to spit it out or he threw up. His father started binding his wrists behind his back as Daryl got older, after figuring out he could wiggle his fingers through the crack and lift the lock. When that was the case he'd have to sit there for hours with the soap irritating his skin with no chance to wipe it away until someone let him out.

Beth sat there silently as she listened, knowing there was nothing she could do to take away the memory, but she was glad he was learning to trust her enough with something so personal. To know she wouldn't judge him or make him feel worse and It broke her heart to see him physically hurt just talking about it. She wasn't even sure if he noticed his breathing had picked up or that he was crushing her hand underneath his.

"The snappin' of a belt..." Beth blinked at the sound of his voice, thinking he was finished and noticed the flinch as the words left his mouth. "Did it on purpose before he'd hit me, knowin' that shit would send me runnin'."

"Daryl..." Beth frowned, fighting to keep her own emotions back and tried to think of a way to ease his pain. To let him know she was there for him and that he didn't have to continue.

"I was never fast enough." Daryl started to get flustered and fidget. Shifting around beside her, almost panting like he was going to have an anxiety attack.

"Calm down, it's alright. We don't have to talk about it anymore." She whispered and unwrapped her body from his, moving to place her hands on his face and make him look at her.

Daryl turned his head and reached up to grab her wrist. "Don't..." He choked and jerked her hand away, grabbing at his collar. His fear of being trapped was starting to crash down upon him and tear apart everything he'd built up around his past.

"Daryl it's OK. You're not alone. No ones going to hurt you." Beth forced her hand back to his cheek. Knowing he made it very clear he didn't want to feel crowded, but she did the only thing that came to mind and pressed her lips against his carefully.

When he didn't respond at first she feared she made a mistake and almost bailed on her plan, until she felt his hand on her hip, digging his fingers into her skin and moving his mouth against hers with more pressure. Beth had to swallow back a moan that surprised her and instantly felt guilty when her fingers curled into his hair. She had never kissed a man and it was completely different from the shy moments she had with Jimmy. There was more emotion behind the kiss with Daryl and his stubble tickled her chin.

The whole purpose of the kiss was to change the subject and get him to calm down, but now Daryl was licking her lips, trying to gain access to go deeper and she was allowing it to happen.

He explored her mouth eagerly for several minutes, massaging his tongue against hers and taking his time. Afraid it was all a dream and she'd be gone the second he opened his eyes. Finally Beth needed to breathe and caught his bottom lip between hers, sucking lightly as she pulled away.

Daryl kept his eyes closed when they broke apart and cursed. "Fuck...I'm sorry..." He said between pants, obviously needing to catch his own breath and shifted uncomfortably. His member was now strained against his jeans and he felt disgusting. Part of his brain was telling him he was normal and just accepting the feelings he had for the young blonde and the other part was screaming that he was a gross old man and taking advantage of the situation. She had been the one to initiate the kiss, but he worried she hadn't actually meant to do it for the same reasons he wanted it. "Fuck!" He cursed again with a growl and moved to open the trunk.

Beth started to protest, but he knew the walkers were gone. Light was already shining through the cracks and he hadn't heard a sound outside since she woke up. Either way he had to get out of there and try to breathe. Telling himself that getting bit might be a better fate than having to face her ever again.

Daryl jumped out of the trunk quicker than he imagined possible once it was open and grabbed his bow. Kicking a piece of metal across the street in frustration as soon as his feet hit the pavement.

"Daryl!" Beth yelled and stalked after him, grabbing his bicep and turning him around to face her. "You may be sorry, but I'm not." She said and narrowed her eyes, causing him to take a step back.

"The hell ya mean?" Daryl asked, making sure to keep a distance between them and brought his thumb up between his teeth to chew on. A habit he only exhibited when nervous or unsure of himself.

"I'm not sorry I kissed you." Beth responded honestly. She wanted to tell him how much she liked the feel of him against her and how it made her body ache. How she was scared to death she had ruined everything and he was going to run away from her. He'd been by her side since the prison fell and she couldn't imagine being the reason for him to leave. For him to finally realize she was holding him back and he was better off alone.

"Maybe ya should be." He grumbled and turned around, walking off down the road with her trailing his heels.