Daryl

For the second time that day Daryl felt like a fool. Of course he had scared her. Who knew what she had already suffered at the hands of one or more of those assholes from Woodbury and here he was raging in here raising his voice.

Shit. He wasn't used to watching out for young girls feelings and had never cared if anyone was scared of him before. Matter of fact, he usually preferred that people have a good healthy respect for him, kept them from trying to get too close. She must see him as a little dangerous. Other wise she wouldn't have chosen him for protection. That .357 Rick carried was more than enough firepower to keep anyone from hurting her and he was the father figure of the group, not Daryl. And then there was her own father, Hershel. You never should underestimate an old man, especially if you were threatening his daughter. She could have gone to either one of them for help and the problem would have been solved immediately. So why would she choose him, and why not tell him what was going on? He would take care of whoever it was that had her scared, and God help the jerk if he had actually put his hands on her. After growing up with Buck and Merle, Daryl felt strongly about men who hit women and children. Those were the worst kinds of assholes, the ones who hurt people who were weaker than them just because they could. Before the world went to shit he had been in more than one bar fight because some maggot thought he had a right to strike a woman. He had even saved one girl out behind a bar he had just been thrown out of. As he picked himself up off the ground he heard a commotion from behind the dumpster and got there just in time to stop her very drunk boyfriend from raping her.

Oh Fuck. What if someone had raped her?

A new wave of fury shot through him and he tasted blood in his mouth. Dammit, he had clenched his jaw so hard he had bitten his cheek. He felt Rick's hand on his arm, pulling him away from the women. Looking up he saw that he had drawn a crowd and Hershel was standing just a few steps behind Rick, watching him closely with a concerned look on his face.

"Come on outside, Daryl, and let's talk about this" Rick said. He jerked loose from Rick's hold and turned back to Beth, his voice as low and calm as he could manage to get it.

"I won't never hurt you, little bit. After dinner, come find me. I'll be in the tower, watching."

Beth

After Beth watched Daryl spin around and storm back out of the cell block the same way he had come in, she tried to catch her breath and turn her attention back to making dinner but couldn't calm her shaking hands. The room that had been so silent only moments before suddenly was buzzing with conversation as everyone tried to figure out what Daryl's problem was. Rick leaned across the table, placing his hand over hers, putting the knife she was peeling potatoes with carefully down.

"Are you ok? You know he would never hurt you, right? He isn't that kind of man." The look of concern in his eyes was enough to make her want to cry. She fought back the tears, feeling shaky and very small.

"I know that. I'm not really afraid of him, but even you have to admit that Daryl all worked up is pretty damn intimidating." She tried to smile, to ease his worry, but it came out more like a grimace.

"Yeah, I suppose he is. Any idea what he's so upset about?" Rick asked, tilting his head to the side in that Rick kind of way.

"No, no idea. I can't think of anything I have done to anger him. He said I needed to explain something to him but I can't imagine what it would be." Her voice quivered as she answered him, trying to think really quickly of anything she could have said or done to upset Daryl. Most of the time it seemed like he didn't even notice her presence so she didn't understand why he would be mad at her.

"Well, if you want to talk to him about it I will go with you, if it would make you more comfortable. And if you don't, I will tell him to leave you alone." Rick smiled at her, even though they both knew that "telling" Daryl Dixon to do something never really worked out quite like you might think.

"No, I think I should find out why he is upset with me, it isn't good to have tension in the group. But it might be good if you stayed close, just in case." She looked down at the floor; a little ashamed of herself that she would feel that she might need protection from Daryl.

"No problem," Rick replied, "whenever you are ready just come get me." He turned and walked away, leading Hershel off with him.

After everyone had eaten and the biggest part of the mess had been cleaned up Beth asked Carol and Andrea if it was ok with them if she took off for the night. They both told her to go ahead and watched as she walked over to Rick and they left the hall together. Daryl looked up as they entered the tower together, a scowl on his face.

"Told you this aint about you, Rick."

"And I told Beth I would stay close until we knew what your problem was. I will stay out here in the stairwell, wont listen in. Just make sure you keep your temper in check." Rick gave Daryl his best police officer stare, not looking away even when Daryl frowned at him.

"Not me you need to worry about hurtin' her, Rick."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rick stepped forward, eyes narrowed at Daryl. "Surely you aren't suggesting that I"

"Aint what I meant, keep your hat on, Officer." Daryl almost smiled, amused at Rick's show of indignation.

"Then just what exactly did you mean?" Rick had relaxed some but still wasn't sure about this new direction of conversation. "Who do you think might hurt her?"

"That's what I mean to find out" Daryl replied, looking at Beth. "Just as soon as you get outta here so we can talk."

Rick backed out into the hallway, leaving the door cracked open enough to hear if she needed him. Daryl walked over to the other side of the room, motioning for Beth to follow him. She managed to make her feet move, but she still couldn't seem to catch her breath.

Don't be foolish, this is Daryl. He would never put his hands on you. 'Cept it might be nice to have his hands on you…..

OH MY GOD, why would she think such a thing?! She gasped at her own thoughts, blushing.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Beth. I aint gonna hurt ya. And I aint gonna let anyone else hurt ya, either. Why didn't you tell me, little one?" Daryl leaned in close to her, lowering his voice so Rick wouldn't hear what they were saying.

Confusion stopped Beth from answering him. Tell him what? That she was having random thoughts of him touching her? No way in hell would she admit to that, she wasn't even comfortable with it herself.

"I figured it out. Why you been keeping so close to me lately. One of them boys from Woodbury try something with you? One of them hurt you? So help me, if anybody has"

"NO! Daryl, no, why would you think that?" She panicked for a second, imagining what he might do to any of the young men that had been talking to her lately. No one had said or done anything out of line, just a couple of shy smiles. No one had even tried to kiss her, and she was kind of glad. They seemed like good boys, but she just wasn't interested in any of them. They were all just so young.

"No one has tried anything or been mean at all. They are all just fine, helpful even"

Daryl visibly relaxed, leaning back against the wall and putting his crossbow down. "So if no one has ya scared, why ya acting so jumpy all the time? Someone must be making ya nervous."

"You"

Oh My God there she went again. Why would she say something like that to him, of all people?

"What was that?" Daryl never moved but his body was suddenly tense again.

"You make me nervous." Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was loud enough that he heard her. "I know you wouldn't hurt me but I can't help it. Whenever you are near me I get a nervous feeling in my stomach and I can't seem to breathe right. I am sorry if I made you think someone was hurting me, I never meant to do that. I will try to stay away from you. Please don't be mad."

She turned and fled the room, her face burning. She didn't look back to notice that Daryl was still leaning against the wall, except now his mouth was hanging open in shock.