It was early spring.

And with spring, there was renewal.

The plants grew, trees filling back in to their natural bright green color, flower buds blooming, the garden was coming to life again, promising them a well balanced diet for the next two seasons of summer and fall. Daryl would be able to hunt more as the animals came out of their burrows to look for more food, and to start packing back up for a winter that was far off.

And they all somehow managed to not lose anymore people. No deaths. Not one. And they were all pretty damn proud about that. There were a couple close calls, but only injuries, no deaths. No more graves had been dug and there had been no more funerals. They were able to keep people alive and safe from the outside world. In fact, there was a rise in population. Five more entered the prison, a mother and her two teenage sons along with two men in their early thirties who had been surviving together.

Merle had not been much of any trouble (and that's some kind of miracle right there). In time, Daryl guessed, their brotherly relationship mended itself. It was still the same bickering and fighting over stupid shit, but it wasn't the controlling one they had been in before Daryl had been separated from him and with Rick's group. Daryl remained feeling guarded with his brother, and he thought that that might not ever go away. But, even if it didn't, he was grateful that his brother was there at the prison. Beth seemed to enjoy his wildly inappropriate humor, which is a surprise to him. Occasionally, Merle would give Daryl this look when they were all together, as if to tell him, "Can't believe this one tied ya down, brother. How did ya get so lucky?"

He would never know that answer for sure.

Maggie was about eight months pregnant and was going stir-crazy because she didn't like only being able to do laundry or help with prepping meals. Glenn was by her side constantly, worried about her picking up things that were too heavy. And apparently that annoyed Maggie to the extreme. Daryl would chuckle to himself whenever he saw Maggie with irritated wide eyes, about to tell Glenn for the hundredth time that laundry baskets weighed practically nothing. Luckily, Glenn did not get into too much trouble with his wife because Beth would remind her that he was simply nervous about the arrival of their child and wanted Maggie to be safe. So, it was a good thing that Beth offered up some distraction by keeping her sister company.

Renewal was here, and there was also a certain shift in Daryl and Beth's relationship.

One night a few weeks ago, Daryl had casually (and nervously) told Beth that he should just move all his shit into her cell, considering that was where he spent most of his nights anyways. Beth had knowingly smiled at him, and then told him that she thought it was a good idea and she had been thinking the same thing.

He found that the two of them were always on the same page.

Things moved forwards and everyone was busy with maintaining life at the prison. One day Daryl passed Lizzie in the halls as she bounced down them with a bundle of cans of food in her arms. She saw him and stopped to politely greet him, then asked, "Are you and Beth going to be married like Glenn and Maggie? And then have a baby?"

It was another innocent question out of curiosity from the young girl's mind, and it threw Daryl off balance. His mind blanked at that moment. Daryl never answered her, luckily Carl interrupted them and Lizzie shrugged as she traveled back down the hall with Carl by her side, the question blowing over.

He never had thought about that before, never thought it would ever be in the cards for him, really. And he was not ready to contemplate it, or even answer the question. Someday he would, but not now.

One thing at a time.

—

It was very late. The middle of the night, however, was the best time to shower because no one else was in there and there would be no one around to hear Daryl and Beth.

Daryl felt the pressure of the slightly warm water hit his back as he had Beth pinned to the tile wall in the shower. His hands gripped her bare thighs as he pushed her into the wall a bit harder, rubbing his wet body on hers. Beth's wet hair was all pulled to the back so it was plastered to her skin, and allowed Daryl to put his mouth on both of her breasts, kissing down to the hardened buds and running his tongue along them.

She let out soft whimpers that were just loud enough to be audible to him over the sound of the water hitting the tile floor when he rubbed his fingers into her folds and teased her very wet entrance.

He glanced back up at her, hair soaked, blue eyes dilated with drops of water hanging off the dark eyelashes, red lips that were parted, and his name on the tip of her tongue. Beautiful, always beautiful. His Beth was never anything but that.

She moved some of the wet hair away from his face, hooking a hand around his neck with a firm grasp, the other on the back of his head so she could grab at the hair. He pressed his entire torso up against her and found himself inches away from her face, from her lips, to the point where they were sharing the same gasping air between them.

"Daryl," she panted. "Stop teasing me."

He smirked into her shoulder, then nipped at her neck in the place that Beth liked. "Why would I ever want to do that?"

Beth expelled out a sigh. "Please."

"Please what?"

All he wanted was to hear those words.

"Need you. Want you. Now."

Suddenly, realization dawned on his. "Fuck. I don't have a condom."

"Don't care," she breathed, tightening the grasp in his hair.

He hesitated because he had never fucked without a condom before. He knew better than to not have one. But here Beth was, thighs burning into his hips as he held her up against the wall and his dick telling him to just fucking go for it. Beth told him to do that.

An impossible situation to make a decision in.

"Please," she begged. "It'll be fine. I'll take one of Maggie's hidden stash of morning after pills." Beth moved her hips, purposefully, to drive him crazy where he stood. "Please, Daryl."

He gave in without further thought to it. Daryl was not going to keep her waiting. He slid her up the steamy wall and then adjusted his hips so that he brought her back down onto him, the both of them moaning once he was completely inside. "Fuck," he groaned as the overwhelmingly good and hot sensation ran through him. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. She was so warm, and so inviting.

"Fuck, Beth. You always feel so good for me," he just barely was able to say. Quite frankly, he was astounded that he could form the right words to utter.

Beth let out a few little humming sounds into his neck when he began to move. Daryl held her tight as pulled out before he pushed back in, going slow at first, and then quickened his pace. Beth caught his lips and he eagerly kissed her back until they needed to gasp for more air. Daryl lightened up on the grasp he had on her thighs, fearing that he might put a bruise or two on them from pressing his fingers in her skin too hard.

His breath hitched in his throat as release came over him, just as Beth's body hunched forward into him as hers hit.

—

Back in their cell, everything was quiet. They were in bed, neither of them tired yet. Daryl enjoyed laying there with Beth. Nothing had to be said and he would be completely content. Having her there had been and always would be enough for him.

"Daryl?"

"Hm?"

"Remember how you told me that you would take me hunting before Maggie's baby came," Beth hinted.

Daryl sighed, the conversation coming back to him from months ago. "You have a good memory."

"Well, I was thinkin' that we could go soon. Since now it's spring and Maggie's baby will to comin' soon. And once that happens I'll be helping out a lot with that and I'll be too busy to go."

He looked over at her, noticing the excitement and eagerness in her eyes. He couldn't tell her no. "When do you wanna go?" he asked, giving in to her request to come hunting with him and have him show her how he did it.

"Really?" she smiled.

"Yes, really. As long as you—"

"Stay close," she imitated his voice, expecting him to have said that. "I know."

He smirked, rolling his eyes. "That's not what I was gonna say. What I was gonna say was, as long as you want to use the crossbow while we're out. Might as well learn."

Beth propped herself up on an elbow, intrigued. "The crossbow? Your crossbow? Daryl Dixon's crossbow?"

"What other one is there?"

"Wait. So, you would really let me use it? Am I dreamin' right now?"

There it was. That sparkle in her eye that he adored. "Ain't dreamin'. 'Course I'd let ya. You're the only one I'd ever let have it."

Beth squealed. "Aw, that's so sweet of you."

"Stop it," he complained, hiding his own smile.

"I'm going on a run tomorrow so maybe we could go the day after that. What do you think?"

Daryl turned his head towards her, running his hand against her semi-wet hair from the shower. His jaw set at the thought of her going out while Daryl stayed behind at the prison to help Rick reinforce the fences. "We should talk about the whole you goin' on a run without me deal."

"Daryl," she whined, hiding her face in the pillow. "It'll be fine. I gotta go. Maggie is requesting more neutral colored baby clothes since we have no way to tell whether it's a boy of a girl. So Glenn and me are plannin' on raiding a few houses on the way out. Because Maggie doesn't trust Glenn to pick out stuff she will like. But seriously, you don't need to worry. Michonne, Tyreese, and Glenn will all be with me. We will be unstoppable," she giggled.

"Unstoppable, huh?"

"Like the Fantastic Four," she joked, making herself laugh. "Only better."

"I don't like you goin' without me, you know that."

Beth kissed his arm. "I can handle myself."

"I know you can," he told her, turning onto his side, running his hand along her small waist. "Things happen, though."

Beth moved so that she pressed him onto his back and her chest rested against his. "I like that you're so protective."

She proceeded to press her lips against his jawline, down his neck, and onto his bare chest. Daryl's breathing rate picked up as her mouth worked its way down to the skin of his abdomen, tongue running across the muscles. His mouth gaped open, letting out an unsteady breath of air from his lungs. His hands went into Beth's beautiful long blonde hair. He loved the feeling of the silky strands in his calloused and rough hands. He squeezed a handful of locks when he felt Beth's lips kiss right above the line where his pants started.

"You're tryin' to distract me, aint ya?"

Beth giggled and he felt the wonderful vibration on his skin, driving him further into ecstasy. "Shut up. You know you like it."

"Ain't no denying that," he confessed. "Come 'er." Daryl easily hooked his hand underneath the hollow of her arm where her shoulder was and dragged Beth back up to his level, and then pushed her down onto the mattress. "That's better."

"Twice in one night? I'm impressed, Dixon."

He smirked, looking down at her as her fingers danced along his back. "Quiet, Greene."

"What? Will I wake the neighbors?" she joked. "You're the one who is loud..."

Daryl caught her lips and ran his tongue gently across her bottom lip, needing entry. She granted him that and he sighed into her mouth. Her fingers ran down his back even more and the she flattened her palms to press his body into hers more effectively. It was not long before he felt her small hand sink below his pants and rub his manhood as he sucked a red spot onto the side of her neck.

Beth knew how to touch him in the right way. She knew how to make him squirm and moan.

He stripped her of her clothes and then rid himself of his own before he reached under his bunk where he had condoms stashed, but Beth stopped his hand. "Morning after pill, remember?"

He dropped the box back onto the floor. "I need you," he told her.

"Good. Need you, too."

It was like the other times. Hot, heated and consisted of them pawing at the others skin because they wanted to lose themselves in each other. They knew exactly how to please each other at this point, having done this repeatedly for months now. Daryl rolled off of Beth when they both got what they wanted for a second time that night.

"You'll be safe tomorrow, right?" he asked, still out of breath as he gazed over at Beth. "Come back without a scratch?"

She cuddled into his side as she brought the sheet up around her shoulder. "I'll come back to you. I'll always come back to you."

A/N: The first chapter of the Bethyl No Zombies AU I was talking about is now posted—called In an Instant. And I am incredibly nervous about it! Tell me if I should continue with it, please and thank you :) I need something else to write now that this story will be complete soon.