I'm sorry I haven't been able to update in a few days! Work has been crazy and I was pretty sick this weekend. Here is chapter six! It's another long chapter to make up for the wait. Please review! :)

Beth was clearly in a good mood when they returned to the cabin. Daryl parked the truck on what remained of the dirt road that led to the place and started helping Beth carry their newfound loot inside. She grabbed a few of the pharmacy bags and her pile of clothing, humming as she made her way inside. Daryl almost smiled in spite of himself; her happiness was almost contagious. She jostled the bags in her hands and opened the door, disappearing inside. Daryl grabbed the toolbox and the remaining bags from the pharmacy. He decided to leave the cans of gasoline in the bed of the truck, since the truck itself would be where the fuel was needed. He slipped through the gap in the spikes and made his way up the porch, stopping when he saw something on the floorboards outside the door.

He set the toolbox down and bent down to pick it up, suddenly realizing that it was a pair of underwear. It was made of delicate white lace, and he could tell that Beth had to have picked it up in the clothing boutique since the fabric was still crisp and new. She appeared suddenly in the doorway and glanced down at the underwear in his hand.

"Uh, you dropped this," Daryl muttered, shoving the panties into her hands as if they had burned him. He felt the back of his neck turning red as he grabbed the toolbox and moved past Beth to go inside. Images of Beth wearing the lacy white underwear flashed through his mind, as much as he willed them not to. The sight of her in her plain, light pink underwear from before had turned him on enough, and imagining her wearing the tiny white panties was too much for him. He could feel the rest of his face and ears flushing, and he tried not to look at her as she closed the door behind them with the underwear still in hand.

"You can't tell me that seeing women's underwear makes you that uncomfortable," Beth teased him as she placed the panties with the rest of her clothes.

Daryl grunted in response. He couldn't tell her that it wasn't the underwear, but the idea of her in the underwear that had irked him. It was completely inappropriate.

"Gonna go finish digging," he muttered, quickly fleeing back outside without meeting her eye.

He walked around to the back of the cabin and exhaled slowly. He reached into his pocket and fished out one of the cigarettes from the pack he'd found and lit it, allowing the smoke to fill his lungs. His attraction to Beth was getting out of hand if imagining her in racy underwear was enough to make him need a cigarette. He leaned against the back wall of the cabin and repeatedly reminded himself of how young Beth was. She may have been over 18, but that didn't really mean she was an adult. Just a few years ago she had been a suicidal teenager that he hadn't really cared about. He couldn't believe how different things were now.

He was able to admit to himself that he cared about Beth more than he had ever cared about most people. She was special and she saw the good in him, as she did with everyone. Daryl knew he never wanted to lose her or for anything bad to happen to her, and he knew he would give his life for her if it came down to it. But what he was having a harder time admitting to himself was his desire to make their relationship more than it was. He wished things could have stayed the way they were, as two people who cared deeply for one another, but were just friends surviving together in an ugly world. Romantic feelings and sexual attractions only complicated things, and they were two things Daryl Dixon had never been good at.

Daryl could hear Beth singing in the cabin, her sweet voice drifting through an open window somewhere. He finished his cigarette and picked up the bucket to resume digging. Maybe if he could focus his thoughts and energy on fortifying the cabin, he could keep inappropriate thoughts of Beth out of his mind.

Beth hummed softly to herself as she stirred the skillet of rabbit meat and dandelion leaves over the wood stove. After finishing the sharpened posts that now circled the entire cabin, Daryl had gone out to hunt and returned shortly after sundown with two decently sized rabbits for dinner. He had also brought several handfuls of dandelion leaves, which, while quite bitter, were edible. After Daryl had butchered the rabbits, Beth had put everything in a skillet along with some salt, pepper, and a little honey she had found in one of the cabinets to take away some of the bitterness of the dandelion.

"I want you to teach me more about edible wild plants," Beth said as she stirred.

Daryl looked up from the map he had found at the drugstore and nodded.

"Probably a good idea," he agreed. "I don't know a lot, but what I do know is enough."

"Maybe we can find a library somewhere. Get some books on edible plants. Hell, any books to read would be amazing," Beth sighed. "I miss reading."

"Come look at the map," Daryl called her over. "I think I know about where we are."

Beth left the kitchen area and went to where Daryl was seated on the floor in the living room, reading the map by the light of the fire.

"Here's Greenville, the town we were in today. I think we're somewhere around here," he said, pointing at the map.

Beth's eyes traveled to the towns nearby and realized suddenly that Senoia, the town that had been closest to her family's farm, was only about 20 miles from Greenville. Maybe ten miles from where they were now.

"We're pretty close to the farm," she said quietly. "Do you think . . . do you think it would be safe to go back there?"

Daryl sighed, his eyes meeting hers. "I dunno, Beth. We could try. But I wouldn't get your hopes up. A herd the size of the one that drove us out coulda done serious damage to the house. Might not be much left."

Beth bit her lip and tried to quell the feeling of sadness that threatened to overcome her.

"I have to see it. I have to know."

Daryl held her gaze for a few moments and nodded.

"Okay. We'll go back there soon."

Beth blinked hard a few times and forced a smile. She cleared her throat and made her way back to the kitchen.

"Today was a good day," she said as she stirred the skillet and pulled it from the heat. "I'm gonna focus on that. We should be celebrating. Lots of good stuff happened today. We found a truck, got some goodies from town, figured out where we are, and finished getting the cabin fortified. This is the best day we've had in a long while."

"Yeah, it is," Daryl agreed with a half smile.

Beth served up the meal onto two plates, grabbing forks and bringing the meal into the living room where she set the plates on the coffee table. She sat down across from Daryl on one of the couches, and he pushed aside the map to eat his meal. She studied the map as she ate, estimating distances to nearby towns from the star Daryl had marked on the map as their location.

"We could try visiting Hogansville for supplies next," she suggested, pointing to it on the map. "I went there once for a fall festival with a friend of mine who had family there. It's bigger than Greenville, and I know they've gotta have a library."

"You're really set on finding a library," Daryl said.

"Well, now that we're sticking around here for a while and not runnin' for our lives so much, it would be nice to have some books to read. It's not like I can sit around watching TV. We have to go back to pre-TV forms of entertainment."

"Fuck, I miss TV," Daryl sighed, and Beth gave a small laugh.

"What was your favorite show?"

He shrugged. "Didn't really have one. Whatever was on, I guess."

Beth smiled, remembering watching shows like Gossip Girl with her friends or old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Maggie. She giggled to herself as she recalled the cheesy dialogue and overplayed drama that she couldn't help getting hooked on.

"What's so funny?" Daryl asked.

Beth shook her head and stood, grabbing both of their now-empty plates to take back to the kitchen.

"Just wondering how much ass Buffy Summers would be kicking in today's world."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Can't say that Buffy was my cup of tea."

"Well she would be if she were here right now, I guarantee you that. She'd be one hell of an ally."

Daryl scoffed and stood and stretched. Beth quickly rinsed off their dinner plates and the skillet as Daryl made his way over to the front door.

"Time for watch already?" she asked. "It's barely past sundown."

"Nah, I'm just gonna do a quick perimeter check. Make sure no geeks are caught on our spikes."

Beth nodded and continued tidying up the kitchen while Daryl went outside. An idea suddenly popped into her mind and she began fishing around in one of the kitchen cabinets. When Daryl emerged back inside, Beth had the bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter.

"All clear," he stated. His eyes landed on the whiskey, and he arched his eyebrows at Beth.

"C'mon," she urged with a smile. "It's been a good day. Let's celebrate a little. I can't believe we still haven't drank any of this."

Daryl sighed, trying to think of reasons to turn her down, but coming up with none. The cabin was as secure as it could be, and Beth was right. It had been a good day.

"Okay," he agreed.

Beth's face lit up and Daryl was faced with the suspicion that she had, in fact, been planning to get him drunk since she found that damn bottle of whiskey. He watched her as she happily grabbed two glasses from one of the kitchen cabinets and made her way over to the coffee table with the glasses and whiskey in hand.

"Shouldn't get too drunk," Daryl muttered as he sat down on one of the couches, Beth climbing onto the couch next to him. "Just in case."

Beth ignored his comment and poured a decent amount of whiskey into each of the two glasses. She picked one of the glasses up and brought it to her nose, shivering as she smelled the whiskey's strong aroma.

"I've never had whiskey before," she stated. "But I guess since you were with me when I had my first drink, you already know that."

"It's different from moonshine. But since you were able to stomach the shine, I'm sure you'll do fine with whiskey."

Daryl grabbed the other glass and watched Beth's curious expression as she studied the drink in her hands.

"Well, cheers," she said with a smile, raising her glass to his with a soft clink. She took a tentative sip and winced, the liquor raising goosebumps on her skin.

"Ugh. It's better than moonshine, but it's still disgusting."

Daryl chuckled at her and took a sip from his own glass. He enjoyed the way the liquor burned down his throat. It had been too long since he had had whiskey. He watched Beth take a few more small sips and resisted the urge to laugh at the grimace she made each time she swallowed the booze.

"Would you be willing to play 'I Never' again?" Beth asked.

"That didn't turn out so well last time," Daryl muttered, feeling ashamed of how he had behaved during the game at the moonshine still.

"Yeah, but we were in a different state of mind then," Beth said. "We had a good day today, and we're in good spirits. As long as you don't go piss in the corner or drag me outside to shoot arrows at walkers, I think we'll be fine."

Daryl looked down at the glass in his hands, feeling uncomfortable. "Sorry about that," he said quietly.

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past now."

Daryl took a deep sip from his drink and met her gaze. "I'm still sorry."

"Like I said, it's in the past. So what do you say? I think you owe me a do-over."

Daryl nodded once. "All right," he agreed, already feeling slightly nervous as to how this would go.

Beth beamed at him, and he felt his chest tighten from the sight of her genuine smile. He took a sip of his drink in an attempt to ignore the feeling, even though it was clear that it wasn't going anywhere.

"I'll go first," Beth said, turning to face him and sitting cross-legged on the couch. "I've never had a beer before."

Daryl rolled his eyes and took a sip. "Okay, well I've never . . . used coconut shampoo before."

Beth grinned and took a sip of her own drink. "Hey, coconut shampoo at the end of the world is one of the best things there is! Umm, let's see . . . I've never gotten a tattoo."

"I've got a few," Daryl muttered, taking a drink. Beth knew about three of them; she had seen a large tattoo peeking out from his vest on his back at times, and she'd noticed the devil on his upper arm and the star on his hand. She wanted to ask him if he had more, and found herself imagining where they might be. She suddenly felt hot thinking about it, and she blinked and realized that Daryl was staring at her.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said, I've never been to a country music concert."

"Really?" Beth took a drink. "Okay. I've never ridden a motorcycle."

Daryl took a sip of his drink and suddenly wished he still had his bike so that he could change that. He imagined what it would be like to have Beth pressed against him on the bike with her arms wrapped around his middle and the engine vibrating beneath them. He cleared his throat and pushed the thoughts away.

"I've never painted my nails."

Beth drank. "I've never gotten into a bar fight."

Daryl drank, looking at her sheepishly when her eyes widened in triumph.

"He deserved it," he muttered. Beth giggled, her head already swimming from the whiskey. He hummed in thought, straightening up when he thought of a good one.

"I've never been baptized."

"Your parents didn't . . .?"

Daryl shook his head. "Didn't give a shit about the state of their own souls or mine. Don't matter though. I don't really believe in that stuff anyway."

Beth drank, knowing that he didn't want her pity, but she couldn't help feeling for him. She sighed, trying to think of something.

"Um . . . I've never done drugs?" her voice raised as if it were a question. She wasn't sure if it was a bad topic to bring up or not, but her clear-headedness was rapidly decreasing, and she had blurted the first thing that came to her head. Daryl raised an eyebrow at her and took a drink.

"Drugs were more Merle's thing than mine, but I tried a lot of things," he explained with a shrug. "Most of that stuff's not worth trying. So don't feel like you're missing out on anything."

Beth smiled at him. "Just 'cause I wanted to try drinking doesn't mean I want to try other stuff."

"Good," Daryl nodded. His head was starting to get fuzzy, and he tried not to focus on how beautiful Beth looked by the light of the fire, her blue eyes wide and staring at him. "Umm . . . I've never been on a date," he blurted out, instantly regretting revealing such a thing to her.

"Never?" Beth gawked at him. She took a drink, but her expression didn't falter. "Why not?"

"Never really met a girl worth takin' out on a date," he shrugged. "A real date, I mean."

"Seems like you were looking in the wrong place for a girl."

"Yeah, probably," Daryl sighed. Not only had he not met any worthwhile women who he wanted to date, but he had never had the confidence to ask a woman out. Meeting women at bars was one thing, but taking a woman to a nice dinner or a movie was something Daryl had never done.

"I've never had a one night stand," Beth said suddenly, her cheeks instantly blushing as she said it.

Daryl slowly took a drink, his eyes still on her as he did. "Once again, you ain't missin' out. You're too young for that shit anyway."

She frowned. "I'm nineteen. I'm sure if the world hadn't ended, I probably would have had one by now 'cause I'd be in college, you know."

Daryl shook his head at her. He didn't like thinking about her age. She was staring at him indignantly, and he was at a loss for words. He raised his glass and took a long sip as she continued.

"I'm not a kid," she said. "And it's not that far-fetched of an idea. I'm not a virgin."

Daryl choked on his whiskey and lowered his glass, staring at her in surprise. Beth had always seemed so innocent; he had never imagined her to not to be a virgin. It was close-minded of him to assume so, but he found it hard to think of her as anything but pure.

"When? Who?" he choked out, still coughing from the whiskey.

"Zach. And it was only a few times," she admitted. "I didn't even like him that much. But with the way things are, I just didn't know when I would get another opportunity. It just seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Damn," Daryl muttered. "Didn't think the kid had it in him."

"He didn't have much going for him. To be honest, it was pretty terrible," Beth said with a giggle. Daryl snorted. He imagined that much was true. Sex between Beth and Zach had probably been a horrible, fumbling affair, and he tried to squash his amusement at the thought of it.

"I think we've had about enough of this," Daryl stated, setting down his empty glass on the coffee table and pushing the bottle away from them.

"Yes, Mr. Dixon," Beth said with a smirk. She finished off the remaining whiskey in her glass and put it next to his on the table. The pair of them sat in silence for several moments, staring at the dying fire in the fireplace. The wind had picked up outside, but the cabin was cozy and warm.

"It's nice here," Beth said, breaking the silence. "I'm glad we found this place."

Daryl nodded. "I'm glad I found you."

"Me too," Beth said quietly, looking down at her hands and feeling almost overwhelmed with gratitude that she was here, in a warm, safe cabin with Daryl by her side instead of wherever she would have ended up if her kidnappers had succeeded.

"Don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you," Daryl said. He knew the booze was loosening his tongue, but he didn't care. "You . . . you're like sunshine, Beth. You make every day brighter."

Beth's gaze drifted to Daryl, a smile spreading across her lips at his words. She leaned closer to him, and Daryl stiffened, but didn't pull away. She slowly closed the distance between them, her lips brushing softly across his. For a moment, she let her lips linger there, and she soon felt the pressure of Daryl's lips returning the kiss. She sighed into his mouth and deepened the kiss, Daryl responding in kind and tangling his fingers in her hair. His tongue brushed against hers, and Beth moaned softly at the feeling. Daryl suddenly pulled away, as if he had been snapped out of a trance.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, removing his hands from her hair and pulling away from her. He stood from the couch and Beth frowned in confusion.

"What—?"

"This is wrong," he shook his head. "I can't do this with you. I'm almost twice your age."

Beth's expression turned angry. "Are you serious? You can't do this with me because of my age?"

"Think about it, Beth," Daryl sighed. "I'm almost forty. You're fuckin' nineteen. It's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong about it, Daryl," Beth snapped. "Whatever societal rules you're holding onto are obsolete, anyway. Think about what life is now, what we have to do to survive. Technically we murder and steal all the time. I don't think those rules apply anymore, do you?"

"I'm sorry," Daryl said again. "I just can't."

He turned and fled out the front door, closing it loudly behind him and leaving Beth staring at the closed door feeling angry and confused.

Don't worry, y'all. Daryl will come round eventually. ;) Please review!