AN: This took sooooo long to edit and IDK if I like it but I promise the next one will be in Daryl's POV and updated quicker than usual! YEY! Please leave comments and reviews they make my heart happyyyy.

.

.

.

.

Faint yellow rays from an early morning sunrise seeped into the bedroom as Beth stirred awake the next morning. Her eyes fluttered open from sleep and she looked blearily around at her surroundings. For a few short moments, she completely forgot where she was. In the time it took to blink however, it all came flooding back. With the edges of her skull stinging from a hangover, Beth rolled onto her side and groaned dejectedly against her pillow, but instantly froze as the body beside it made a sound and started moving. The exhausted blonde leaned warily away, inch by slow inch, she leaned up on aching limbs and blinked unseeingly at the person laying beside her.

It took a few seconds for her to put the pieces together, but now she vaguely remembered the blurred image of Daryl, shuffling back inside the room to check on her. She thought she'd just been dreaming the entire thing up, but it's not like she recalled this happening either.

A sudden warm and reassuring feeling hit her squarely in the chest, and she found herself gazing down in curious wonder at Daryl's sleeping form.

His face was void of any tension and he was curled up with cushion beneath his head, naturally his bow rested on the floor below him. The whole thing was like a picture.

It was a stark contrast from the frustrated and angry version she had been greeted with the previous day. So much so that Beth had half expected him to have disappeared by now. The sight of him like this filled her heart with hope and surprising herself, she pushed a few stray hairs away from his eyes. She guessed he must have dosed off as he took a break from watch, and the thought of that surprisingly didn't anger her. Yesterday had been one of the worst days with each other so far, and they both said things they couldn't take back. He deserved a decent nights sleep just as much as the next person, and she hoped he hadn't stayed up too much longer after she went to sleep.

Beth sighed contemplatively, sitting in the aftermath of yesterday felt like a door was being closed shut behind them, never to be opened again. It felt like a good omen but she couldn't be completely sure. She hoped ruefully everything would be different now. The air around her felt clearer, like everything moving forward between them would be sown from a clean slate.

She quickly looked back down as Daryl shifted slightly but didn't wake. It was like she was getting a glimpse of what his younger self looked like, someone softer and less scared of his emotions. Beth wondered curiously if he'd ever show that side of himself to her.

They would be ok, she told herself, as she lay back down beside him. It wasn't much, but it was all the reason she needed to let herself feel safe. Even if it was only for a few moments...

.

.

.

.

That afternoon they decided to venture out to the abandoned store for more supplies. Beth wanted a few more knives to carry for protection, and they would only last a day or so with the cans of food she found in the kitchen. They hadn't said much to each other that morning, but the energy between them felt different, lighter, if not overly cautious. It was like they were paranoid of letting something horrible slip out of their mouths in case it went too far again. She noticed Daryl was much quieter than usual too, but it hadn't struck her as strange. They simply kept to their respective areas of the cabin until it was time leave. Beth new these were just growing pains they needed to experience in order to keep moving forward.

They had both decided to stay in the cabin an extra night, then leave before sunrise the following morning. They weren't entirely sure if all the Governors men had got out alive when the Prison was taken, and they didn't want to be waiting around for any unwanted visitors. The dead or living kind.

As they turned into the main street, the red brick building still looked untouched from when her and Daryl had first seen it. The car she noticed on the opposite side of the street was still there too. All black, burnt up and empty like a shell. Beth's hand leant on the charred metal as they knelt down securely behind it, surveying the area. The large glass windows of the of the storefront showed no signs of movement from what she could see, but it was never worth the risk to assume anything was safe these days.

"Only get what we need. Things that're useful, no pointless crap." Daryl explained from beside her, his entire ebody on alert for any sudden movement.

"And if too many Walkers appear, I want you to run."

Beth swallowed hard and nodded as they slowly stood up. It was Rick's rule they followed whenever they were out in the open like this, but without the security of the group around them, Beth suddenly felt a whole new level of responsibility in her hands.

The street was quiet as they walked side by side, the heat from the afternoon sun blazing down around them, making her forehead sweat. All she could hear was her steadying breaths and the crunching of rocks and dirt beneath their boots.

When they got closer to the windows Daryl walked quickly to the entrance, his steps barely making any sound he was so light on his feet.

Standing with his back against the wall, bow drawn, he squinted through the gap of the door as it hung loosely from its hinges.

All they heard was silence.

Daryl served Beth a confirming look and she quickly moved to stand beside him, knife at the ready. Daryl knocked three times against the glass, waited a few moments, then tossed in a few rocks through the broken window.

They waited with bated breath for any signs of life, or dead in their case to appear. Again, there was nothing.

Daryl looked from side to side, debating something before she spoke. "I'll head around back, you stay here."

They nodded at each other and Beth stepped forward, covering the area as he disappeared behind the building.

Beth gripped her knife tightly in her hands, her only weapon of defence, looking around at the empty quiet street again. Something felt off to her and she couldn't quite pin point what. Maybe it had been a while since they had passed through little towns like this and she wasn't used to this exposed feeling so soon. Still...her gut instincts had gotten as sharp as her reflexes lately, and she couldn't quite seam to squash a sinking feeling rolling around in her gut. She trailed her eyes along the top of the store above her, trying to make out the name of it, but it had been painted over with scrawls of graffiti. Judging by the empty shelves she could see through the windows, it was one of those small expensive grocery stores scattered along the highways.

"Anything?" She whispered loudly after a few moments, catching sight of Daryl on the other side.

He shook his head at her. "Seams clear, head in."

Just as she was about to push open the door, a familiar gurgling sound echoing in the distance made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She knew it.

Beth instantly stiffened and her blood ran cold. She'd know that sound anywhere.

On instinct, she turned at full speed towards the small group of Walkers. Their dopey stumbling bodies heading straight for her.

"Daryl!" Beth yelled quickly, unclipping her knife.

Before she could get too close, he suddenly appeared by her side. Already having sent two arrows straight into some heads with a quick, "Plink ..plink," of his arrow.

"I'll get em. Head inside and close the door." Daryl ordered, not looking at her.

"Daryl I can-"

"Get! I have it!"

Beth looked between him and the last three Walkers, feeling her heart race a little with adrenaline. She trusted he was more than capable to take care of himself, but she hated to be dismissed by like that. There was just as much risk in this world to accept help from others as it was to refuse it, she thought knowingly. Shaking her head a little, she walked backwards towards the store, making sure to keep her eyes trained on him right up until the last one was dead.

Heading inside, Beth pushed open the door slowly, it creaked a little and the delicate chime above was still eerily working.

She walked around hesitantly, hearing the scurrying footfalls of Daryl right behind her. When he got to her side, she saw he had two bloodied arrows in his hand, reloading them onto his bow.

"You ok?" She asked skeptically, his brash tone before making her feel slightly anxious.

He nodded. "Yeah. Let's keep movin."

Beth turned and they both walked around in comfortable silence, discovering the store was basically barren.

"Great," she said, deflated, picking up a random magazine and flipping through the pages.

"Jus keep lookin," Daryl instructed.

"Yes, Mr Dixon."

Daryl gave a short moan in response, hating the affectionate nickname she'd given him.

Beth smirked behind his back and walked further down the aisle, looking around but seeing nothing of value. The store had obviously been swept clean by other people, and all she could see left behind was some paper towels, rubber bands and some gum.

After a while, she noticed that she was still irked at his behaviour over the Walkers, and tossing aside another empty box of cereal, she strode purposefully over to him. It wasn't worth an argument but she didn't want it happening again.

"Why did you stop me from fighting before? We're in this together." she reminded. Beth had her hands on her hips as she stood directly beside him.

Daryl looked up at her from bended knees, his elbows resting on thighs.

"I know that," he said. His face guarded as he spoke.

Beth frowned. "Then why? I have this for a reason you know?" Beth waved her knife back and forth and Daryl glared darkly at her hand.

"That ain't a play thing," he snapped, standing up quickly. "I know you can fight, but five Walkers is nothin. It ain't a big deal."

"Well it is to me." she countered. "What if something happened and I wasn't able to help you because you're being stupid and overprotective?"

"That's not gonna happen." Daryl glanced away, looking a bit out of his depth. "I handled it, Beth."

Flashes of their previous argument came rushing back, and Beth recalled how overwhelmed and frustrated he had become. Swallowing her pride, she lowered her penetrating gaze a little, making sure her tone was authoritative enough without sounding controlling.

"I'm a good fighter. You just need to trust me." she explained. "It's too late to tell me not to protect you too. That's not fair."

Daryl stared at her a brief moment before he nodded understandingly. "I guess I just...I panicked or somthin." he confessed awkwardly with a shrug, looking to the ground.

Taking a comforting step towards him, Beth felt the anger drain from her body like flowing water. Something shifted behind his eyes as she stared up at him, her hand coming to rest on his arm.

Baby steps, she reminded herself.

"I can do this." she assured, "Besides, who will I get drunk with if you're gone?" she added teasingly.

Daryl visibly relaxed and shook his head, biting back a smile. "Yeah sure, miss moonshine," he mumbled, bending back down.

Beth smirked and glanced at his face once more before walking back over to her aisle. "Try and find me some chocolate?" she suggested hopefully.

He scoffed. "That ain't a priority girl." he dismissed.

"No it's a necessity!" she hollered cheekily.

They said nothing to each other for the next twenty minutes, being left to their own devices. Beth being pleasantly surprised that the air between them wasn't thick with tension from their little spat. This new dynamic between them would take a little getting used to, but she very much preferred it to the alternative.

As she roamed around the aisles aimlessly, she roughly went through a mental list in her head of what they needed. At the same time however, she was trying, and failing, to ignore the memory of them both waking up together that morning. Trying in vain to distract herself with a pile of rope she found on an empty shelf, she recalled the whole situation had been an awkward fumbling experience of sleepy heads and intertwined limbs. Feeling a rush of something swirl around in her stomach at being in such close contact with a man she barely knew.

Daryl had made up some excuse about falling asleep because of the moonshine, and hastily retreated back into the woods. Beth wondered if his nervous reaction hid more than he was able to convey, but asking him about anything to do with his emotions would be the equivalent of trying to get water out of a stone. Still, now that they weren't screaming at each other, she'd seen more often than not how he'd been stealing glances at her throughout the morning, and his intense paranoia over her safety just now was definitely making her think twice about him. He may have just been acting all chivalrous so he could bring her back to Maggie alive, but something at the back of her mind made her consider how significant it actually could be. They weren't exactly strangers anymore, maybe that's why he panicked? She wondered.

Beth tried not to laugh at herself for even contemplating all of this, since the thought of having a crush on Daryl seamed so trivial in the grand scheme of things. But surprisingly, the idea of it didn't shock her as much as she thought. He was a good person despite his flaws and she trusted him. Rick respected him too and even though he may be complicated and closed off at times, Beth wasn't exactly perfect either. Maybe she was just feeling restless and alone and worried they'd die soon (when didn't she) but it wasn't like he was unattractive by any means.

Staring blindly at her hands, Beth came abruptly to standing at the thought, looking at him inconspicuously over the top of the shelves. Did she just think that Daryl was… handsome?

For a few moments she just watched him roam around, as if the simple action alone would help clear her mind, or confirm something she didn't even realise she was unsure about.

Wasn't it only less than twelve hours ago that she was thinking he was the most frustrating person to ever exist?

Before she could even contemplate the fact she was checking him out, Beth ascertained that he was at least two heads taller than her, which she liked, it made her feel safe. Then even though you could barely see them through his shaggy brown hair, his eyes were a bright crystal blue, just like hers. You'd never see him in anything other than dark clothes, but he wore them with such ingrained confidence it was like you had to be born with it. His vest was sleeveless and his arms were long and lean and generous with muscle, and Beth had to admit when she hugged him yesterday, she felt like something was missing when they pulled apart. She vaguely recalled him being ten years her senior, but that didn't mean she couldn't find his rugged good looks appealing if she wanted too.

"Beth? You ok?"

The books in her hands fell to the ground like sand through fingers, as Daryl caught her point blank staring at him.

"It's ok I'm-I'm fine." she stumbled, quickly picking them up.

As Beth willed her body to breathe normally and silently slap herself for being so stupid, Daryl walked quickly over to her side.

"You find somthin?' he asked curiously. There was mild concern written across his handsome-no his face, just his normal face.

"Ah no. I mean yes, yeah I found these." she held up some notepads and shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. "Good for fires."

He nodded once. "Any food?"

Beth swallowed hard. She was thankful he had absolutely no clue what was going on her brain, but she couldn't really think about that right now.

"Um no, nothing much, just some candy bars." she replied, despondently.

Daryl hummed in disappointment, looking around as he placed his bow over his shoulder. Beth tried not to stare at his face. Or his arms. Why hadn't she noticed them before?

Oh yeah, because she was trying not to die from a zombie apocalypse.

"Yeah this place is a shit hole. Maybe we could find somethin a few towns over. What are those things on ya wrist?" he asked suddenly, his face puzzled.

Beth must have looked as shocked as she felt, since Daryl reeled a little at her expression.

"What?" she asked, feeling all flustered and jumpy.

He held her gaze for a moment, considering something in his head, but he just as quickly squashed it. "Those bracelets, were you wearing them in the Cabin?"

Without hesitation, Daryl reached across and pulled her hand towards his, holding it firmly in his grasp as he delicately fingered the handmade jewellery she had found. "You made these?"

Beth looked down and felt goosebumps at his touch, her breath caught in her throat as she watched him in a daze.

"Beth?"

Like a bucket of ice cold water being dumped on her head, she snapped herself out of her childish thoughts. They needed to survive, not act like hormonal teenagers.

"They were just...um, they reminded me of the ones me and Maggie made for each other when we were younger."

Beth pulled her hand back from his grip, feeling self conscious. She could feel Daryl staring at her and wished the ground beneath would just swallow her whole.

"It's dumb I know, you probably wouldn't understand."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Her eyes snapped to his.

It didn't happen often, but Beth didn't know what to say.

"You miss your sister." Daryl explained, as if it were obvious. "Makes sense."

Beth was stunned. Who was this man and why did he make so much sense sometimes but also constantly confuse her?

"Yeah, I do." was all she said.

"The beady ones," he added, walking back over to whatever he'd been looking at, "They might be-"

"Too noisy?"

He hesitated. "Yeah..."

Beth shook her head non committedly, knowing what he meant. "It's ok! I can leave this one."

"Keep it. Just don't wear it. You can give t' Maggie when we catch up with her and Rick."

Beth once again was lost for words. What was happening to her?

"Right," she agreed thickly. "Yeah I guess I can."

She couldn't believe it. Was Daryl actually feeling hopeful they were going to find Rick and the others? It was the first she was hearing about it. Her heart felt set alight with sparks as she watched him lift his bow and check it over once more. Maybe her vain streak of faith in the world was actually rubbing off on him?

"Ready?" he asked. "Ain't much else we gonna find in here."

"Ready!" Beth replied.

Their run for supplies wasn't the best, but it could have been worse. Apart from the empty notebooks, Beth managed to find a dark grey t-shirt that didn't smell horrible, and a screwdriver about the same size as her knife.

Just as she had finished shoving the notebooks into her jean pockets, the sound of a door opening made her spin around on the spot.

Before she could even yell Daryl's name or run to where he was, three men walked out of the office door at the end of her isle. She didn't recognise them, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid.

One had a gun, the other had knife, and the one in the middle was aiming his rifle directly at her.

Beth's heart started to race and she looked around.

"Put down your weapons and give us everything you have."

.

.

.

.