Good Things

Chapter 4

AN: I do not own The Walking Dead, nor any of the characters depicted. Enjoy, and review.

Beth hadn't been able to sleep after her talk with Daryl. Her whole body had come to life, her skin humming and too tight. She laid on her bunk, arms crossed behind her head as she stared at the ceiling in thought. What would their first time be like? Would it be hurried and awkward? Had she misjudged Daryl in thinking that he was experienced? She didn't think so, but he wasn't much for public displays or being close to people, so it was a possibility even if she didn't think a large one. Even though he didn't display it, he exuded sexuality. He was sex, walking talking sex. She wasn't the only one who thought so.

No matter the root of their relationship, Beth had heard Carol talking to one of the Woodbury women about the men. Daryl and Rick had been their number one topic of discussion.

"Rick is handsome, but he is so... nice," Carol said as she scrubbed the plastic bowls they had scavenged and collected into a set large enough for everyone.

The brunette bobbed her head in agreement, taking the bowl and wiping it dry. "I think there is potential there, but its not raw like Daryl's," Cindy agreed. "They both look like they know their way around the bedroom. I think Rick would be slow. Make love." She set the bowls in the cabinet, smiling at Beth as she returned to helping Carol.

"Daryl would be..." Carol smiled and sighed longingly. Even though they were friends, she was a woman, and far from blind. She had been supressed with Ed, and since she had been freed from him, her personality wasn't the only thing that had been growing and changing. "He would be pure sin."

Cindy giggled next to her, nodding. "Have you seen his arms?" she gushed.

Beth tried not to react to what she was hearing. She knew that both men were fantisized about by the women there, but hearing it from a woman she had come to view as a second mother? It was weird. She couldn't disagree with their reviews on what sex with either man would be like. Beth could see Rick being slow and gentle, whereas everything Daryl did was done with total devotion. He would send a girl up in flames would be her guess.

Her stomach had tightened up then at the thought, and did so again as she smiled in the dark. Tomorrow night, she would know first hand what type of lover Daryl Dixon was. And she could only hope that she would be the only object of his attentions. She didn't like the idea of sharing much. Not that he was hers, per se, but she wasn't willing to share him all the same. Not that she would share that thought with him. This was an arangement, not a relationship after all.

Fragmented fantasies flittered in and out of her mind as she laid there, waiting for the sun to rise to start counting down the hours to midnight. She would no longer be a virgin after tomorrow. She hoped he wouldn't mind that she was. All her life she had been taught that her virginity was something special, and while she still believed it was, she didn't want to die without experiencing the physical intimacy that sex brought. She had waited this long, and she chose Daryl. Even if he didn't have feelings for her, Beth felt something for him.

She wasn't quite ready to label those feelings, she knew they weren't 'love' yet, but they went beyond those that she had for the other male members of the group. In her heart Beth felt as if this was the right thing to do. Her father had always told her that she had been strong in a way different than Maggie. She followed her heart, she believed even when others didn't, she saw the good in everything. Even when her family had all believed that she and Jimmy would be married after high school, she hadn't let him take her virginity. It hadn't been right, in her heart it hadn't been right.

So why was she willing to give it to the rough and rowdy redneck?

Her heart said so.

If she ever told anyone, they would have locked her up and thrown out the key. They already thought she was too weak to do anything but look after Judy. If she told them that she was falling for a man twice her age, with a complicated rocky history, who disappeared for days on end in a walker infested forest to hunt by himself, they would probably think the fever had stared without her being bitten.

But like her daddy had always told her, she saw the good in everyone, including Daryl Dixon. Even if no one else could, she did. It was the little things he did; the way he brushed off praise when he went out of his way for someone, his determination to hunt and provide for such a large group, his fierce protectiveness of their family, the respect he had for each and every one of their smaller immediate family, going without so the older and younger members could have more. Even though his father and brother hadn't been his example, Daryl was an honorable man.

Maggie's head appeared at the entrance to her cell, a saucy grin on her lips. "Hey sis, you been up long?"

Beth momentarilly panicked, wondering if perhaps Maggie had heard her proposition Daryl. The panic subsided as she realized if Maggie had, she wouldn't be smiling. "Not too long. Just woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. What's up?" Now that others were waking, it was safe to rise as well. She rolled out of bed and beckoned Maggie inside and started to change into her day clothes.

"Well, I talked daddy into letting you go on a run today with me, Glenn, Daryl, Shasha and Tyresse. What do you think?" Maggie's eyes sparkled in her excitement. Beth gasped, running to her sister and hugging her tightly.

"Oh my god, how did you manage that?" Beth hadn't kept it secret from Maggie that she wanted to be more involved and useful. She couldn't believe her sister had talked her dad into letting her go! "Does everyone else know?"

"Yes, they know. They're all glad. Sasha wants to show you how to use the rifle, and Ty said he would help you out with hand to hand stuff." Maggie linked her arm with Beths, leading her out into the walk and toward breakfast. "It will be a short run, we just need to grab whatever food we can and more linens and clothes. Medicine. You know, anything useful."

Beth nodded, nervous and giddy at the same time. She had to make sure she didn't do anything stupid today. Daryl would be there, and would be watching. "When do we leave?" she asked, double checking her knife on her belt as they entered what had become their main meeting and dining quarters. Carol was already there, Judith on her hip, as well as Sasha and Tyresse who were double checking their various weapons.

"Now," Maggie grinned, handing her a Smith and Wesson .44 pistol and a second knife. "Lets go."

Following the others outside Beth watched as Daryl slammed the hood shut on one of their cars, his eyes meeting hers briefly before flying away. Her heart thudded in her chest and she shook herself slightly. This wasn't about Daryl. This was about her. This was about proving herself, learning, becoming stronger. Squaring her shoulders, she climbed into the second cars back seat behind Maggie and Glenn, and stared out the window as they left the safety of the prison fences.

Beth didn't know what she had expected, for there surely wasn't magic inbued in the fences, but other than the rising sense of alert that grew as the vehicle moved further up the road and away from the complex, there was nothing different on this side of the fence. She hadn't been outside the walls since entering, as most of the others had on at least one occassion. She tried to keep track of their direction and the roads they took, for one could never be too careful these days, listening to the idle talk between Maggie and Glenn. She hoped that she wouldn't be a burden today. She prayed that things would go smoothly, and without incident.

"Nervous?"

Beth jerked her gaze up to meet her sister's green eyes, shrugging a shoulder slightly. "A little," she admitted.

Maggie smiled in understanding. "Just keep close, listen to us, and always aim for their heads," she encouraged as the car slowed to a crawl and then a stop behind the other car. They piled out slowly, Beth pulling the knife from the sheath at her hip and gripping it tightly as they others readied their weapons as well.

It was like watching a tactical team from a movie, Beth thought as she watched them anticipating and directing each other without words. Glenn took the lead, Maggie just behing him beside Sasha. Tyresse moved behing her, winking at her with a reassuring grin, as Daryl stepped beside her and didn't even spare her a glance. Beth was surprised that he hadn't taken the lead, but she wasn't sure what their normal routine was either. Maybe they thought he was the best equiped to protect her and himself if the need arose. She wasn't sure what she thought of that, and filed it away to think of later, concentrating on the task at hand.

"Stick close," Daryl said low, pushing a canvas bag at her. She nodded, clutching the bag in one hand and her knife in the other as they crept into the parking lot. It was a ghost town, filled with deserted cars, most of which the doors were still open. Weather had taken the luster out of the newer ones, the earth growing closer and attempting to reclaim those parked closest to the edges. Beth's blue eyes moved so quickly in every direction she almost made herself dizzy. So far so good, no movement and no sign of walkers.

Sasha paused ahead of her, stooping to pick up an empty can. If it came to it, the can could be used as a noise distraction. The group crept toward what had once been a super store, the front doors the motion sensored ones that opened and closed on their own. Without power, they would have to push them open. Beth was mildly surprised the glass was still intact, but considering how thick it was, perhaps it wasn't so surprising afterall. They formed a circle, making sure each direction was being watched, while Glenn tapped on the glass to lure any walkers inside to the front. After several moments, he repeated the action, and two lone walkers appeared. They were gaunt and thin, even for undead, and Beth wondered if they had been trapped inside since the beginning.

Wordlessly, Sasha and Tyreese moved to open the doors while Glenn and Maggie took out the two walkers. They moved them inside, near the doors but not blocking them incase they had to escape quickly, and they split into two groups. Beth shifted to follow Maggie, who was with Glenn and Sasha, but Daryl's rough hand gripped her elbow and he shook his head pulling her along with him. "Look for medicine, food, and clothing," he directed quietly as he let his hand fall from her elbow.

Beth swallowed thickly and nodded, ignoring the tingling feeling that was radiating out from her elbow. Her arm, her shoulder, her chest to her breasts was throbbing, her nipples hard and straining against her bra and tightening with every brush against the material. Holy cow, she thought, biting her lip. Tyreese stopped short in front of her, and Beth nearly ran into the back of him. She shook her head clear and concentrated. This was not the time to be distracted!

Ty glanced at Daryl and gestured toward the sporting goods and broke off, leaving Daryl and Beth alone. Daryl kept walking keeping his crossbow up and at the ready. Beth kept her eyes off him as she followed, trying her best to remain alert. She would be useful.

They reached the medical supplies with no problems, and Beth immediately opened the canvas bag and moved forward to stuff tubes of antibiotic cream, bandages, and anything else that looked remotely useful into the bag. She paused, frowning slightly, and stepped back to look at the shelf. It was, for the most part, still fully stocked. "Daryl?" she whispered, the back of her neck prickling. She zipped up the bag as he turned and lifted a brow, his gaze cutting to the shelf and back to her. She saw the understanding dawn, the tension take over his body as he shifted closer to her.

Beth shifted the bag onto her back, glad for once that it wasn't loaded to bursting as they sometimes returned, and drew her gun as her eyes swept the rest of the darkened store. There was too much remaining inside. She wasn't sure why no one had noticed before now, desperation maybe, but something was off. Daryl tilted his head, gesturing her to stick close as he stepped back into the main aisle and whistled just loud enough to be heard. Beth turned so her back was against Daryl's, her heart pouding as her instincts and anything she had ever picked up watching TV took over.

A whistle answered, and then all hell broke lose.