When I said the end of the week, clearly I meant THIS week. Come on guys.

Wanted to give a special thanks to Kaylah, Emma, and Shelley who always seem to review and set my heart a flutter. I thank you!

Reminder that this story is now rated 'M' and so you should expect things along those lines now, though certainly not every chapter.

Enjoy!

Beth would have liked to be angry, but to be honest, she was distracted from it by sheer confusion. Rick had lost his temper and yelled at her, which she didn't quite think she deserved. Thinking back on it, she did feel foolish. Oh look at me I'm going to put flowers on the stove like a fairy princess. Ugh. She gets why he was mad. This wasn't a vacation, after all, and even she, as eager as she was to find her family, had gotten a little swept up in the idea of she and Rick 'playing house,' as he had not so gently put it. Plus, to be fair, Rick was still healing, and he was a lot of stress, and-

Stop. Beth told herself. She stopped pacing the cabin, and exhaled gently, holding her hands out in front of her. Maggie had always given her a hard time about making excuses for everybody. She had thought it was a good thing, personally, that she was able to see the good in everyone. But Maggie had said while that was nice, it also meant she would get walked over quite a bit. This had turned out to be true, as her fist unsuccessful dating venture with Jimmy proved. She made a lot of excuses for him, and they had come back to bite her.

But Rick isn't Jimmy. Well that much was obvious, she argued with herself. Rick was different, he was special. He emanated goodness, strength, and love. But, she reminded herself gently, that doesn't mean he gets to be an asshole. He had said some pretty hurtful things to her after all. That he was "stuck" with her. Wasn't that what he said?

Beth felt the frustration boil up in her belly at that memory. Beth had spent the majority of her time at the prison feeling like a burden to everyone but Daryl and Judith. Everyone worked around her, which was fine; she did her duty and didn't really care how they viewed her. But now… well it hurt that Rick thought of her that way. It wasn't what she wanted. Who was he to talk to her like that anyway? Wasn't SHE the one who had saved his life?

Oh. There was that anger she was looking for.

Beth found herself out in the brisk air, all but slamming the cabin door behind her. She was going to find Rick, and give him a piece of her mind. She didn't deserve to be talked to that way. She crossed her arms over herself, in an admittedly juvenile gesture, and stalked through the woods, tracking Rick. She was thankful Daryl had taught her to see the indentations in dirt and leaves, how the way a stick was disturbed could mean so much. She caught up to him in no time, and as she approached him, the numerous snarky things she could say were welling up in her.

Maybe I am stuck with YOU.

Just because YOU don't know what a clean area looks like, doesn't mean I can't enjoy one.

Excuse ME for giving a shit about something other than myself.

She was practically grinning about the prospect of putting him in his place, when she noticed he was bent over something, and looked rather distraught. She ducked quietly behind a tree and watched him. He was holding a rabbit in his hands, and distractedly rubbing his beard, as if he was trying to stave off tears.

"I'm sorry." She heard Rick whisper.

Crap. Beth thought to herself. It wasn't like she could yell at him now. Her instincts were right about Rick after all. And now she felt stupid for doubting his gentleness. But he did still yell at her. Sighing, Beth admitted that it probably had less to do with her, and more to do with him. She was the only person to shout at, as it turned out.

Rick started to stand up to leave, and Beth began to panic. She did NOT want him to find her here, waiting to yell at him, like a 4 year old. She quickly began to scale the tree behind which she was hiding. After a few seconds, which passed all too slowly, she had finally reached a branch with some leaf cover. No sooner had she quietly whispered a prayer of thanks that she was quiet and light on her feet, did the branch crack beneath her.

Shit shit shit. Beth's clenched her eyes shut. She was sure she was going to open them, only to see Rick staring at her with that bemused grin of his that made her crazy. She dared to peak out of one eye, and sure enough he was standing right below her tree. But his eyes were not looking up, but out, searching the ground below her. His eyes were hard and his hand was on his holster as he searched for the source of the noise. Beth held her breath- I'm going to get myself shot.

But, in the true Disney Princess fashion that she had worked so diligently to avoid, she was saved by a bird that chose that moment to fly from one tree to another noisily, satiating Rick. As he stalked off into the forest, Beth took a moment to catch her breath. She turned awkwardly in the tree, and rested her back against the rough bark. She sighed, and rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes. In her efforts to act like a grown up in front of Rick, she ended up doing the opposite. "Playing house" as he put it. Hiding in a tree? She hadn't done that since she was 12 years old, and she had accidentally broken Shawn's guitar. She knew he and her Dad would be after her, and she had shimmied up in that tree higher than they could ever reach.

Beth giggled at that memory. She had refused to come down until Shawn and her dad had promised they weren't going to kill her or spank her, respectively. But what did this mean now? She wasn't afraid of Rick, not even a little bit. She knew he'd protect her with his life if need be, though she often prayed it would never come to that. She was hiding from him because she wanted him to think the absolute best of her. She wanted to be something special in his eyes.

Beth shuddered. She pretended it was just the fall air.

/

Beth had finally admitted she had to go back to the cabin, when it occurred to her that she may have scared the hell out of Rick. If he had gone back, it meant that he would, of course, notice her absence, sending him into a fit. She clamored out of the tree, falling not so gracefully onto the hard earth beneath her feet. She stretched awkwardly, but quickly was at a full run. However, upon her entrance into the cabin, she found it empty.

Beth cursed silently to herself. Rick had to be out there searching for her. What a nightmare. Now she would have to track him, and explain awkwardly why she had left the cabin, and that she was, in fact, not a 4 year old, and not even that upset at him. Oh, he was going to be mad. But he could not be as angry as she was that she had scared him.

Grumbling to herself, she walked outside, and noticed for the first time, the somewhat decimated rabbit that lay there. She followed the blood drops and Rick's rambling steps down to the creek. She prepared herself mentally for the argument they might have, and what defenses she could possibly concoct for her absence at the cabin. She did not, and could not, however, prepare herself for what awaited her.

Many thoughts hit Beth all at once. Rick was in the creek. He was bathing. He was naked. Beth's breath hitched as she took in the sight. He was standing in this ray of sun, in the middle of the creek. The light reflected off of the water that danced across his skin. He was holding his arms out, taking in the sun, and he was smiling. Oh, he was smiling.

Beth couldn't breathe. She wasn't breathing. Was breathing important? She couldn't remember. To her surprise, her feet responded to her immediate command, and she was running back to the cabin, her head spinning. She slammed the door shut behind her, and was aware of her breathing once again. It was too fast. It was too heavy. She closed her eyes. There he was again. He was beautiful; he was so beautiful.

She couldn't wait any longer.

Beth pushed her jeans down and lay down on the bed. She was not surprised to find herself wet, as she dipped her fingers across her own clit. As she began to make quick circles against herself, she let her eyes close and see the beautiful man bathing in front of her. Her hands moved almost independently of her, at a reckless pace. There was no time to do this slowly and tenderly; she didn't know when he would be back.

These thoughts kept pushing through her mind. His lips on hers. His hand on her breasts. The feel of his beard on her sex. They all played in her mind like a clip show, set to the sound of her racing heartbeat. Beth's hands grasped the sheets beneath her and she shook with her release, his name and any number of other things falling from her lips.

Her breathing was wild, and the sweat dotted her brow. As she quickly came back to earth, and yanked on her jeans, she sighed.

There would be no pretending now.

Yeah, so that happened.

If anyone is worried that it would be ooc for Beth, do remember that she is a teenager. That's all I'll say unless there are other questions or objections.

Thank you all again so much for reading! I appreciate every review and follow I get, and absolutely cherish them.