A/N: Sorry for the delay on this, I'm on new meds that kind of make me sleepy all the time, so it's hard to find time and focus to write. But I got through it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. This one also technically meets the "M" rating, though with less detail.

Even after living here for six months, the rhythms of Haven felt odd to Daryl. Before they'd arrived here, everything had been day by day. There had been no routines beyond the ones they did every time they stopped somewhere to keep themselves safe; hanging up cans, setting up a watch schedule for the night. There had been months where they'd had no idea what day of the week it was, let alone what day. They'd guessed, based on the weather, but mostly they just didn't care. Didn't have a need for it. But after their stay in Richmond, a few of them had kept track of the days, writing it down in journals and scraps of paper until they'd gotten to Haven and created several hand-made calendars for everyone to use.

Now they had schedules and routines. Not just watch schedules, but gardening schedules and chore schedules, on top of daily and weekly routines. For example, every Sunday, Rick would write up the watch schedule for the week and post it on the small board they'd built and installed between the middle cabin and the lake shore. Daryl had made it part of his routine to check it for him and Beth every Sunday. He'd get up, eat breakfast with Beth (sometimes with the others at Alberta's place, sometimes in the privacy of their cabin, if she wasn't feeling up to the full group), then while Beth got to work checking on her dried herbs and running through their medical supplies, he'd take a walk through Haven and check the board.

This morning he took his stroll the same as always, leaving Beth behind in their cabin as he took the path in front of the lake shore to the message board. The sun was still at a low point over the lake, slowly rising in the pale blue sky. The birds were still chirping away all around them, and the sound of people's chatter filtered through the air as well. The air was crisp and cool, but thankfully autumn ran long in Georgia. They might have to worry about snow eventually, up as high as they were, but likely not for another month or two.

Their little homestead was a bustle of activity this morning, as it often was. Maggie and Glenn were working on the small garden between their cabins, and they waved as he went by with a nod in return. He glanced quickly over them, noting that Maggie wasn't showing yet, at least not as far as he could tell with the oversized shirt she was wearing. It wouldn't last long, and soon they'd have to tell the others, but for now her secret was safe. Carl was out back behind his family cabin, holding Judy by one hand as they checked on the pair of rabbits together. He couldn't see Michonne or Rick, but guessed they were inside their cabin, or elsewhere in the small compound.

Eugene was down checking the fishing traps, and when Daryl shaded his eyes to peer out towards the large fence, he was pretty sure he spotted Tara and Rosita on watch duty, each atop one of the two motorhomes they used as watch towers. The thought had his gaze shifting to the newest addition; the small class c motorhome that was now parked behind cabin one in the distance. Carol and Enid had been sleeping in it for the last few nights since the young girl had arrived. According to Carol, she'd offered to go back to the cabin if Enid wanted space, but the girl seemed to prefer having the older woman stay with her, a fact Carol seemed pleased with.

He worried about the level of attachment Carol had shown for the girl, even as he thought the new relationship might be good for her. After all, if it turned out the girl was hiding something, especially something dangerous, he couldn't say for sure that the betrayal wouldn't be the thing that finally tipped Carol over the edge.

But so far, Enid had done nothing too suspicious. She was jumpy, and she was always watchful, that was for sure. He'd caught her sneaking around a few times, peering into windows and watching others from a distance, but who could say whether or not she was just shy or scared and wanting to get a private handle on things? Like Beth, Daryl had no alarm bells going off, but that tingle of worry wouldn't quite vanish.

So he kept his eye on her; for Carol's sake, but also for all of their sakes. (And Beth's, as well. Always Beth's.)

He slowed to a stop in front of the announcement board; a large plank of wood nailed to two thick wooden poles that had been planted deeply into the ground. There was another board on top as a sort of roof, to keep out the light rain, though they had a large sheet of plastic hooked on the back of it that they used to cover it during heavy rain. They'd hammered in a couple nails as hooks, and Beth had scavenged some little clips one on a run, which they used to clamp onto the paper announcements so they could change them out whenever needed. The watch schedule was always posted off to the right side of the large calendar, and Daryl's eyes scanned it with interest.

Sunday afternoon, Rick and Michonne, Sunday evening, Tyrese and Sasha, Sunday night, Eugene and Noah, Monday morning, Carol and Hank…

Huh, that was odd. He and Beth weren't scheduled for watch duty until Wednesday. There were six watch shifts a day, so every once in a while they got a singular day off; everyone did. But never two days in a row, let alone three. Daryl's brow furrowed as he studied the list and then, after a moment, abruptly turned on his heel and headed towards Rick's cabin.

He remembered to knock on the door before barging in; the return of privacy was another adjustment they'd all had to make after almost a year and a half of living in prison cells at best, and abandoned shacks and homes at worst. But he relished his own privacy now, so he didn't mind giving it to others.

"Come in," Rick's voice called through the closed door.

Daryl pushed the door open, but took only one step forward, standing just inside the doorway. He leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest, a hint of an amused smirk on his face as he watched Rick doing the morning dishes. The cabins drew water from a well, and they tried to be sparing with it, using the rain-water collecting barrels as back up. But it was enough to allow for washing the dishes quickly every now and then; mostly they scrubbed them dry and only used the water quickly to rinse it off.

Glancing up, Rick saw the smirk and matched it with a chuckle of its own. "Got myself on wash-up duty this morning," he remarked as he scrubbed one of the plates clean. "We take turns."

"Beth an' I too," he confirmed with a little shrug. They all took turns with everything these days. At least in their group, tasks were divided up evenly at best, and otherwise based on ability rather than anything else. "Speakin' of duty, I noticed Beth and I ain't on the watch duty list until Wednesday."

"Yep, that's right." Rick's hair fell into his face as he looked down into the sink, studiously focused on rinsing off the dish, but Daryl could swear there was a smirk hidden on his face.

"Why's that?" He cleared his throat. "Not that I'm not grateful, I just don't understand why."

"Ahh." Yes, that was definitely a smirk, and it only grew as Rick looked up at him. Setting the plate aside, he added, "You'll have to ask Beth to explain that one to you."

"What's that mean?"

But Rick said nothing, only kept looking at him with that little amused smile on his lips.

Daryl's arms tightened across his chest."Fine, see if I offer to help you dry those dishes then…" Daryl hesitated a moment longer, but Rick didn't seem inclined to give him anything else. With a low huff, hen turned and left, Rick's chuckle of laughter following him out the door as he shut it behind him and strode off towards their cabin, determined to get an explanation out of his little minx of a partner.

But when he pushed open the door to the cabin, Beth wasn't alone. Little Enid stood beside her in a corner of the room by the cabinet where Beth kept most of the medical supplies. When he opened the door the younger girl spun around, hands to her chest and eyes wide as she looked at him. "It's alright," Beth said warmly and reassuringly. "It's just Daryl. He makes a lot of noise and looks grumpy sometimes, but I promise, he's alright. He's a real sweetheart underneath it all." She leaned towards the girl and whispered, "He just hides it really well."

"I heard that." Daryl's voice was gruff, but he gave the girl a slight smile as he moved to the left and into the kitchen, out of what would have been her path of escape. He'd hoped it would make her feel more comfortable, and though she did seem slightly less tense, she didn't seem very comfortable. Enid ducked her head, brown hair falling forward as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sorry, I'll get out of your way…"

Beth reached for her instantly. "Oh honey, you're not in our way, we—"

But Enid was already moving, hurrying past Daryl and out of the house with a soft and hurried goodbye as she went. Beth sighed as the door shut behind her, and gave a soft shake of her head.

"What was that 'bout?" Daryl asked, leaning against the kitchen counter and watching her.

After a second, Beth tore her gaze from the door and fixed it on him instead. Her expression softened, a faint smile crossing her lips the way it always did when their eyes met. "I don't know," she said with another soft sigh. "I saw her hovering outside the door and invited her in. She seemed curious about the medicine… how I work, what we use, you know, herbs versus the medicine we've scavenged. I don't know if she's curious about medicine in general or…"

"Scouting?" He knew it sounded pessimistic, but he preferred to think he was just being a realist.

"Maybe." Her eyes still fixed on him, Beth began to move across the room, closing the gap between them. There was a little playful light in her eyes and a smirk on her lips and he shook his head at the sight of her.

"Don't you be comin' towards me like that, Greene, you'll distract me from my purpose."

"Oh, you have a purpose?" She stopped a few feet away, teeth nibbling at her pink lower lip as she looked up at him from under her lashes. "And I assume it's not kissing me…"

Lord, she really would be the death of him. "Depends on what your answer t' my question is."

"Oh, I see." She spoke with mock solemnity, he could tell by the little glimmer in her eyes and the way she pressed her lips shut like she was trying not to giggle. Her blue eyes widened as she fixed them innocently on him, and asked, "And what would that question be?"

Daryl snorted. He suspected she already knew, given she knew exactly what he'd gone out to check. But he stayed firm, despite the part of him that greatly wanted to grab her by her hips and pull her close. Tightening his arms across his chest, he grumbled, "Rick tol' me to ask you why we ain't on the watch schedule until Wednesday."

"Oh that." She smirked. "I had a feeling it might be about that. Well…" She took a step closer, peering up at him with those big doe eyes as she scuffed her foot on the ground. "What if I told you…. it was because you and I…. were taking a little vacation?"

"A vacation? We can't go on a vacation." The words spilled out of him in disbelief before he could stop himself. He must have misheard her, or she was just being silly. She did that, sometimes. (Though, he reminded himself, usually not in a way she thought would end up hurting his feelings.)

"Why not?" She cocked her head at him, all sweet and kind, and he immediately knew she wasn't teasing. But still, he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"Because… because we can't! We have… things to do. And because…" He uncrossed his arms to gesture around them, as if using the world in general as an excuse. "Well, you know."

"Yes, I know." She took another step closer until she was standing just an inch or two away now, her hands coming up to gently rest on his chest. "But we can still have a vacation. Rick said we can have a few days off, so this afternoon you and I will take a little drive and we're going to stay somewhere else for a few days." No sooner had he opened his mouth that she raised a finger to press it to his lips and stop him. "I have it all planned out, so there's no point in arguing. The place has been scouted, I've packed everything we might need except your clothes and such, you'll have to go pack those yourself. But otherwise, we're all ready to go."

"On vacation?" He had to ask one last time, to make sure, because it still didn't feel real. He suspected it wouldn't for a while, honestly.

"Yes," she said softly, looking up at him with a soft smile. "A vacation. You and me, Daryl Dixon. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Disbelieving as he was, he couldn't deny that yes… with her along for the ride, yes, it did.

Though Beth had stared longingly at the motorcycle for a few moments, she'd insisted they take the truck for their little surprise trip, claiming they needed the room to bring more supplies. "Plus, I promised Rick we'd pick up some things there. I won't tell you what, yet, but that's part of how I got him to agree."

Now they were trundling up the mountain in the truck, taking twisting roads that lead further and further up the mountainside rather than farther out. "It's actually not that far from the lake," Beth remarked, peering out the window and up as if waiting for something to come into view. "At least, not distance wise. Elevation is another story."

"We've been this way before," Daryl remarked gruffly; he had a good memory for that sort of thing, and the whole area was familiar to him now.

"Mhm, that's how I found it." Beth looked pleased as punch with herself and still disinclined to tell him anything, apparently. "Well, sort of."

Not that he wouldn't keep trying. "Sort of?"

"Just be patient for a minute or two more, and then I promise, I'll explain everything. We just need to go around this last bend, and then you'll see…" She leaned forward, slipping out from under his arm to peer out the front window as they rounded another bend up the mountain. Suddenly her arm raised and she pointed excitedly, "There, Daryl, look!"

He slowed the truck slightly and mirrored her movement, leaning forward to peer out the windshield, and then finally, he saw it. The mountain stretched up above them, covered in a mix of evergreens and other trees with their red, orange, and yellow autumn foliage. Nestled in the middle of the trees a short distance above them was a cabin. Not just any boring, boxy little cabin. Not even a cabin like the ones at Haven—no offense to them, since he was very happy with the one they lived in.

No, this was more of what he would consider a luxury cabin. What he could see at this distance was a large A-frame cabin, the front of which was filled with windows that perfectly fit the peaked shape of it, all of them glinting in the afternoon sun. Two porches extended from the front at a middle and lower level, and judging by the direction they faced, he imagined there was a pretty good view of the lake at the base of the mountain from both of them. There was a chimney visible, too, so he assumed it had at least one fireplace.

"We ain't been there before," he remarked, a bit bewildered.

"No, not technically. But we've been around here and I saw it once, from a distance. I mentioned it to Maggie and Glenn, and they checked it out on one of their runs about a month ago. Apparently it's gorgeous inside. Not a rental, but someone's home. Not just anyone, either!" She turned to him, eyes bright with excitement. "Apparently there's a room in there filled with books and a good half of them are medical books, specifically on midwifery, pregnancy, babies, etc. Medicinal, herbal, you name it. Maggie thought maybe whoever lived there was a midwife, and this was their vacation home. Anyway, I sort of noted it down, but at the time, we didn't really have a need for those sorts of books, so I didn't consider it a priority. But then with Maggie being, well, you know… I remembered this place, and realized it would be perfect for you to finally get the vacation you've never had."

Daryl just drank in the side of her, so bright and hopeful and bubbly, chattering away at him, her hair golden in the sunshine and her eyes so brilliantly blue and lord, he loved her. He loved her so much he almost couldn't breathe with it, except not breathing would mean he'd cease to exist , and he could never do that in a world that contained her. So somehow he continued to inhale and exhale and just stared at her in a complete, happy daze, until her chatter turned to giggles and she teased, "Oh c'mon Daryl, let's finish the drive up there, I can't wait to show you the rest of it. You're going to love it!"

They followed the road up and around a little further before taking a small gravel driveway that split off and led them down to the back of the cabin. Daryl drank in the sight of it as they pulled to a stop. The back of the cabin was a little more utilitarian than the front, but still gave off a cozy vibe. From here he could see the green roof sloping down above a side-porch, with a little set of stairs that led up to it. He assumed the side porch wrapped around to the large one at the front.

From here, he could see that the chimney connected to an outdoor fireplace, which was unusual. There were a number of chairs set around the fireplace, and a couple rocking chairs closer to them on the near end of the side-porch. The windows were all closed and unbroken; in fact, minus some overgrown grass and bushes around it, you almost couldn't tell that it had been abandoned for a couple years now.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Beth gazed over at him, her hands clasped together in excitement. "Wait till you see the inside! C'mon, Daryl."

She was out of the car faster than he could blink. Something about her enthusiasm tugged at him, summoning up memories of her being equally excited. The night he'd carried her into the kitchen of the funeral home, so that they could snack on peanut butter surrounded by candles. Or the time they'd stayed in that big wooden lodge and he'd lit candles for her with something far more intimate in mind than sharing a jar of peanut butter. Her face had lit up then the way it was now as she stood outside the truck waiting for him.

There was nothing to do but follow. (Nothing he wanted to do but follow her, every time.) "Leave our stuff here for now," she said, gesturing to the bags she'd brought with them. (Not much, because frankly they didn't have much to bring; even after six months at Haven they still lived mostly lightly. But he suspected some of it was food, since the cabin presumably had already been raided for food when Maggie and Glenn had come through.)

When he hesitated she reached out with a laugh and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, Daryl! Let's take a little tour." She led him up to the steps to the side porch, where two rocking chairs sat beside the side door. They walked past it, on to the large stone fireplace that jutted out of the corner of the home, with two wooden benches sitting in front of it. "I've never seen an outdoor fireplace," Beth mused, "I wonder if there's one on the inside, too."

"Chimney looks large enough," Daryl mused, leaning briefly out from under the roof of the porch to peer up at it. He pulled his head back in to see Beth laughing at him, and furrowed his brow. "What?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just something about men and architecture, I think. It's funny! My Daddy used to do that everywhere we went, study the foundation or the chimney or the brick walls or whatever." She came a bit closer to him, curling her fingers tightly in his as she leaned almost against his chest and whispered, "I think it's cute."

"Oh yeah?" She pulled his attention as always, narrowing his focus until she was all he saw. His free hand came up to rest on her hip and he tugged her a little closer, staring down at her upturned face and barely resisting the urge to kiss her soft lips.

"Yeah." Beth lifted her hand and tapped his nose playfully with one finger. "But save that look in your eyes until we at least get inside, Dixon."

He growled playfully but obliged her, at least for now, mostly because she was so excited to show him around the place. She pulled away and he followed, letting her tug him by the hand and lead him back to the side door. It was locked, to his surprise, but she fished a key out from under the welcome mat and held it up with a grin. In no time at all she had it unlocked and open and was stepping inside to give them their first look at their home, apparently, for the next few days.

They stepped into the main room of the cabin; a large, open space. To the left was the wall of windows, stretching up above them into a peak. He could see a loft level above them, but tore his gaze away for a moment to take in the rest of the house. The right half of the window wall featured a large wooden dining room table and chair, and to the left was a living room area, with a massive stone fireplace that mirrored the one on the outside wall. Two plush leather couches were positioned around it, and above the fireplace was a flat-screen television, which of course they wouldn't be able to use.

Despite the lack of electricity, the place was well-lit thanks to the afternoon sun shining in through the numerous windows. He would have considered all that glass a risk, except most of the windows pointed out over the cliff, where they were less likely to be seen. To the right and behind them was a small kitchen, with wooden cabinets that matched the plank walls; it looked like oak, if he had to make a guess. There was a massive fridge and oven, and a big counter stained with a darker wood in the center. The loft was above the back half of the room, including the kitchen and the entrance where they'd come in, but the rest of the room had vaulted ceilings that extended up to the peaked roof.

"Wow," he breathed out, staring around in a bit of awe. He still felt in part like he had no idea why or how he was here, except that Beth had brought him, and he was always along for the ride when it came to her.

"This isn't even all of it, come here." She guided him to the right, where a hallway extended down the center of the cabin next to the kitchen. To the right was a curved wooden staircase, leading both up (he assumed to the loft) and down (to what, he didn't know yet.) "There's a bathroom back here and a spare room, which I think is the room that was used as a study." Sure enough, when Beth pushed the door on the left of the hallway open, it revealed a small but snug room, the wooden walls featuring recessed bookshelves, all of which were filled with books. A couple plants hung in planters in the corners, but they were all dead now from lack of care. There was a plush leather armchair in one corner, and a futon in the other that looked like it pulled out into a bed if needed. Opposite the door was a single window, with a desk under it built up against the wall; it was covered in stacks of books and papers, long abandoned and a bit dusty now.

"We are definitely coming back here later," Beth remarked, seemingly trying her hardest to resist the urge to go check the titles of every single book to see if there was anything she could use. He imagined there must be, judging by the wealth of books inside. But Beth sighed and left, bringing him with her back to the stairs. "I think the master bedroom is upstairs, so let's go down first!"

In what seemed like no time at all, they had explored the entire cabin. Downstairs was some sort of game room, complete with a pool table (containing all the balls, cues, and supplies), and another television and lounging area. There were several windows down there and two sliding glass doors that led out onto a lower porch. There was also another bathroom and a good-sized bedroom featuring two twin-sized beds and a closet full of old toys that had Beth pondering if it was where the doctor's grandkids had stayed when they'd visited.

The idea seemed to make her sad, so he took his turn to tug at her hand now, bringing her back out through the game room and through one of the glass doors to the lower deck to take in the view. The land spread out in front of them, autumnal trees sweeping down the mountainside and parting in the distance to give them a glimpse of the lake beneath a clear blue sky.

"Wow," Beth breathed out in an exhale. "What a view."

His gaze, as always, strayed to her. Nature was beautiful, but it had nothing on Beth Greene. "It ain't bad," he teased, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear after the wind blew it loose from her braid.

"You can't see Haven from here, but you can see a corner of the lake that's close to it," Beth murmured, half-turning towards him as she pointed it out. "I told them if there was an emergency to try and light a torch and stick it there, and we'd come running if we saw it. Should be able to get a glimpse, anyway, there's plenty of windows. Hopefully nothing goes wrong." He saw her mouth twist for a moment before she smoothed it out in an attempt to hide it.

"You worried somethin' will?" He asked, voice soft with concern as he brushed the pad of his thumb across the dimple in her chin.

"No… not anymore than usual." She sighed, but met his gaze after with a tiny smile. "Rick told me everything would be fine, and I believe him. It's only a few days, and besides, you deserve this. We both do."

He wasn't so sure about him deserving it, hell, he was still bewildered to be here at all. But she wanted him here and for now, that was more than enough.

"Let's go see the loft!" She moved on brightly, grabbing his hand once more and tugging him through the door and back upstairs. They kept going past the main floor landing and up the curved steps to the loft, which took up about half the size of the living area. The main feature of the loft was a big king-sized bed, made of rough-hewn oak and covered in a brown and red comforter featuring silhouettes of bears and stags.

"I like the theme," he remarked with a smirk.

"Mm, I like the bed in general." Beth looked up at him from under her lashes as she moved around the bed, running her fingers over the comforter playfully.

He followed her, stalking her around the edge of the bed like a hunter after prey. Or was she the hunter, luring him into a trap? The metaphor didn't really apply in either case, not the least of which because they both wanted each other, equally. Just as he got close though she turned away from the bed and towards the smaller fireplace against the wall in the corner of the loft that jutted slightly out from the rest. There was a sofa in front of it, but she ignored it in favor of kneeling on the rug in front of the fireplace instead.

There was still wood stacked next to it in a little metal stand, dusty from being inside so long but presumably usable. He watched, leaning against the foot of the bed, and in no time at all, Beth had a low fire going. She stretched her legs out in front of her and gave him a playful smile as she patted the empty spot on the rug beside her.

She didn't have to ask him twice. One moment he was standing above her and the next he was pressing her down into the rug and kissing her until she was gasping for him. He took his time, kissing her breathless first and then moving to her neck and up to her sensitive ear, teasing it with his teeth until her hands clutched at him, digging into his shirt to hold him close.

"Daryl!" She gasped his name as his lips trailed down over the curve of her neck, the scent of lavender on her skin filling his nose, and down to the neckline of her button-down flannel shirt. His hands came up to undo the buttons one at a time as she gave a breathy little laugh and arched slightly beneath him. Her hands found his and gently tried to nudge them away as she scolded, "This is supposed to be about you, it's your vacation."

"This is about me," he murmured back, the words rumbling against her skin as his nose found the V between her breasts and nuzzled there. "This is what I want. You're what I want, Beth. All of you, all the time. It's a damn wonder I can think straight half the time. It's been, what, less than a year since we left the prison and I still can't get enough of you. Don't reckon I ever will."

In truth, he hoped he never did. She was the brightest thing in his world. She was all things sweet and beautiful, the epitome of what hope meant to him, and he would happily spend the rest of his life worshiping her like she deserved. Getting the chance to do it unreservedly and without interruption was better than a vacation for him. So he took full advantage of it, slowly removing her clothing one item at a time and kissing every inch of skin that was revealed, like a postulant given the chance to worship a perfect goddess.

He took his time, but finally she lay completely naked beneath him, squirming and moaning with pleasure. She gasped his name and reached for him and he gave in eagerly, allowing her to pull him close and began to strip off his clothes as well. After all, why would he resist, when there were few things that felt as good as her skin against his, their bodies twined together, her hands splayed against his back? Except, of course, the feeling of being deeply seated inside of her, as close as two people could possibly be.

They made love on the carpet in front of the fireplace, the flickering flames painting a golden light on their skin as they moved together in perfect harmony, bodies arching, lips parting in shared moans until finally they came, her first and him a short few moments later.

After, when he'd slipped off the condom, tied it in a knot and dropped it carefully to the side for now, he pulled her into his arms and they lay there on their sides, feeling the warmth of the fire on their skin. At first they just lay there in silence together, relishing the moment of calm and quiet together. It wasn't often they got to be together like this, even these days, living in Haven. They had their quiet moments in bed in the evenings and mornings, but there were always people nearby, making their hustle and bustle audible. There were always things to do, chores to get done, trips to prepare for.

But this was different. This was just the two of them, on a vacation he'd dreamed up in his mind that had seemed unattainable and was now, somehow, a reality.

"Dunno what I did to deserve this, or you," he murmured into her hair before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Her face had been tucked into the crook of his neck but she pulled back a little at his words, just enough to peer up at him. She had that little furrow in her brow, the one she always got when she was about to 'argue' with him. (It wasn't really arguing, more her making her sweet but determined disagreement against his negative thoughts.) He found himself smiling faintly just at the sight of it, which seemed to immediately calm her and ease the tension from her shoulders. She relaxed in his arms, the scolding expression vanishing from her face.

Instead, she lifted her hand and traced her fingers along his jaw as she murmured, "You didn't do anything, Daryl. You didn't need to do anything but… exist. That's all." Her thumb grazed his lower lip and she looked into his eyes. Her own seemed extra blue today, glinting in the firelight as she stared up at him and smiled. "I love you, Daryl Dixon. I just want to make you smile sometimes, simply for that. You deserve to smile."

"You make me smile," he murmured back, the words muffled against her head as he leaned in to press another kiss there. It was always hard for him to confess certain things, to express his emotions verbally, but he'd learned it was easier with her, especially if he whispered them into her ear or against her skin like this. He trusted her to always keep them private and safe.

"I know," she murmured back. "And now you get a whole few days with just me and you in this lovely cabin. How lucky are you?"

His arms slid around her back and pulled her close again, fingers splayed against her soft skin, lips nestled into her hair as he guided her face back to the crook of her neck, and whispered, "Luckiest man in th' world, Greene."

The next day, after Beth made them breakfast, they decided to explore more of the house, having spent most of the previous day upstairs in the big comfy bed. Unsurprisingly they ended up in the study, where Beth began to go through all the books on the shelves and create stacks of the ones she wanted to keep.

"This person was definitely a midwife or an obstetrician," Beth remarked as she studied the spine on one book and set it down on top of the pile. "The Midwife's Guide to Key Medical Conditions, Intrapartum Care—that means during labor, apparently, oh look, Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology… There's a ton of these. I'm going to have to narrow it down to see what we can bring back with us."

"There's plenty of room in the truck," Daryl remarked from where he sat at the creaky leather chair, feet propped on the desk. There was a random book in his lap that he'd been glancing through, but as usual, he was more taken with watching Beth and the way she lit up every time she found a new book.

"True. I just want to make sure we find the ones that will be most helpful, you know, for Maggie." Beth closed the book she had been looking through and set it down with a sigh. "You know, I almost feel bad, being here while she's… you know."

"Because she's pregnant?"

"I guess." One of Beth's hands rested on her knee, fingers tapping out a rhythm as she spoke. "But more because she's so scared and anxious, and here I am having a good time with you in this beautiful cabin…"

"Can't put your whole life on pause because of it." Daryl dropped his feet to the ground and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and leaning forward to look down at her. "I'm sure she don't blame you for bein' here."

"No, she seemed happy when I asked about this place and told her my plans. Said maybe she and Glenn would come up here some time." Beth sighed and looked down into her lap. "But then she seemed to remember the pregnancy, because she trailed off and looked down at her stomach… I think she was realizing that might not be so easy in a few months, let alone if—" Beth swallowed hard. "Let alone once the baby comes."

"Hey." He slipped out of the chair and to his knees in front of her. His hands came up to cradle her face, guiding her head up until she looked into his eyes. "Maggie'll be alright, Beth. You being here is only gonna help that, alright? Look at all these books you've found. We'll bring back a hundred of 'em if we need to, and you'll read them all an' you'll know just what t'do, alright? We'll figure it out, one day at a time."

"I know you're right," she murmured, attempting a faint smile at him as he continued to cup her cheek. "Sorry. It just creeps up on me sometimes."

"Y' ain't gotta apologize, Greene. It's alright. You're allowed t' be upset."

Beth laughed at that, low and a little hoarse. "Funny, I swear I remember telling you that, and now look at you."

"Yeah well, I had a good teacher." He leaned in and softly kissed her lips just once and then drew back. "Would you like a little distraction?"

Her eyebrow arched. "What kind of distraction?"

"Not that." He laughed, then amended. "Well, not right now. I'm still recoverin' from yesterday." More like he wanted her to have time to recover, but still. "I got somethin' else in mind, hold on, you stay right here."

He left her sitting on the floor of the study as he went to fetch the thing he'd found earlier, down in a closet on the lower level. It only took a moment to grab it, and he was back within a few minutes. She sat where he'd left her, eyes wide and head tilted in curiosity as he stepped into the room, holding the object behind his back to surprise her.

"Daryl?" She blinked up at him questioningly, but only for a minute. Only until he pulled his hands out from behind his back and revealed what he'd found; a black acoustic guitar, still fully-strung and in what he assumed was working order.

"An acoustic guitar?" Her voice was breathy with wonder as she reached out for it with both hands.

"Yeah. Found it in the closet downstairs earlier." He handed it to her, watching as she took it with careful, reverent hands. His own hands felt awkward now that they were empty, all fidgety, as if he didn't quite know what to do with them. He ran one through his hair and stuck the other into his pocket, feeling suddenly unsure. "'Course, not that I give it t' you, I realize I don't even know if y' know how to play one…"

"I don't, not really, but I've always wanted to learn." She looked up, seemingly catching the doubt in his eyes or perhaps his voice; it didn't really matter, she'd always been able to read him well. "Otis used to play, back on the farm." Her voice was a little sad, but not as choked up as it had once been when she talked about the former farmhand. "He taught me how to play a couple chords, but that was it. And then we never really had a guitar, so I couldn't try and learn more…" She looked down at the guitar held loosely in her hands, and a smile curved across her lips. "Well, until now."

Feeling a bit better now that she was smiling, Daryl crossed the room and sat down in the chair again, leaning forward so his hands dangled between his knees. "Gonna give it a try?"

"Maybe..." She drew out the word but there was a playful smile on her lips as she settled the guitar onto her lap and into position. One hand rested on the strings and the other on the neck as she held them into position over what he assumed was a certain chord. She strummed once, the sound slightly off-pitch, and made a face. "A little out of tune, and I don't have a pick, but with some adjustments…" Her fingers twisted and tightened and then, when she strummed the third time, her face brightened in delight. "There we go. Let's see…"

Rather than strumming a full song, she hit the chords occasionally, punctuating certain beats on the song as she sang softly along, "Talking to the songbird yesterday, flew me to a past not far away, she's a little pirate in my mind, singing songs of love to pass the time. Gonna write a song, so she can see, give her all the love she gives to me, talk of better days that have yet to come, never felt this love from anyone."

Her sweet voice trailed off and she looked up at him with a sheepish little shrug. "I'm really not good at playing the guitar. I was at least a little better at piano."

"You're better at both than I'll ever be," Daryl remarked, a gruffness in his voice that hadn't been there before; tied, he suspected, to the lump that always choked his throat whenever she sang. "And your voice is amazin' as always."

"Oh, you don't know that… maybe you have a hidden talent for playing guitar, and I can teach you!" She looked down at the guitar in her hands and laughed. "Well, after I teach myself, I guess."

"Maybe." He didn't much reckon he'd be good at it, but then again, there were a lot of things he'd once thought he was bad at, that Beth had shown him otherwise. Like caring for people, understanding them, and communicating his emotions. Okay, so he still sucked a bit at that, but he was better at it with her at least. She had a hopeful expression on her face that he couldn't resist. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he teased, "Tell you what. I'll let you try an' teach me, if you promise t' keep singin' as part of our lessons."

She laughed as she let the guitar rest on the ground so she could lean forward a bit towards him. "You like my singin' that much, Dixon?"

"Greene, I like your singin' more than about anythin'." She got up off the floor and he reached for her immediately, leaning back in the chair so he could pull her sideways into his lap. He loved the way she fit against him at every possible angle; the way her body curled into his and her fingers came up to play with his hair. It pulled things out of him; feelings, but also words. "You know, those weeks when we were separated, when you were in the hospital…" He paused, only long enough to make sure she was okay with talking about that horrible time. She had gotten better at it as they'd worked through their books, but he knew it was still hard, knew the trauma had faded somewhat but would never go away, not entirely.

Only when she gave a little nod, did he continue, "I used to remember a lot of things about the time we were together before that, just th' two of us. Good and bad things. The arguin', sure, 'cause I always felt guilty about that. But the good moments, too. Burning that shack down, teachin' you to hunt, th' peanut butter… an' your singing. I used to remember that night in the funeral home, when y' sang that song on the piano. Used to play it over 'n over in my mind. I swear the memory of it was part of what got me through."

"Daryl…" She whispered his name into the shell of his ear and he let his eyes flutter shut for a moment, let himself just relish her nearness and the feeling of her in her arms. The weight of her always kept the memories of their separation away. She pressed a kiss to his temple and added softly, "I'll sing to you every day, if you want me to."

Well, he wasn't going to say no to that. It sounded like heaven to him.

They spent their second day there exploring more of the house after they'd sorted out which books Beth wanted to bring back with them and loaded them into the truck under a tarp to keep them safe if it rained. Then they'd hung out in the game room, playing a few games of pool that had ended with them doing something a little less wholesome on the pool table, much to Daryl's amusement. He'd never been able to resist Beth for long, not even when he wanted to go easy and give her a break. Plus, it wasn't every day by far that they had this much privacy, even back home.

That afternoon they'd gone out hunting and bagged a rabbit for dinner and now they sat outside, cooking it on the grill on the back porch. It felt almost homey, in a way he wasn't used to. Beth was sitting nearby in one of the rocking chairs with their crossbows on a small table beside her, and they were using wood in the grill instead of propane or coal, but still. The scent of rabbit filled the air, making his mouth water. Beth had cut it up and made kebabs on some sticks she'd found in the kitchen, mixing the rabbit meat with some root veggies she'd brought from their garden.

"All you need is one of those aprons," Beth remarked, shading her eyes to look up at him as he stood in front of the grill, tending the kebabs. "You know, 'kiss the cook' or whatever they always said."

"You joking, or fishin' for another kiss?" He turned to grin at her but stopped as he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye; a flash of black and white His body tensed and he reached slowly for the knife at his waist, wishing his crossbow was closer than the nearby table. But even as his hand reached the knife, he realized that the movement he'd seen wasn't a person, but something else. An animal.

No, not any animal. A dog.

It was a skinny thing, more bones than anything else, but with a beautiful coat of fur under the dirt. Its black fur was covered in white speckles, accented by brown markings on its chest and legs. Its face was intelligent, with brown spots like eyebrows, big floppy black ears, and a white speckled stripe down the front of its face and muzzle. A hunting dog, he was pretty sure. He'd never had one, but he'd seen plenty of hunters who had them, all sorts of varieties.

Daryl stood still as the dog slunk towards them, pausing every once in a while to lift its nose in the air and sniff hopefully.

"Oh Daryl, it's hungry!" The dog turned towards Beth at her explanation and Daryl tensed, but rather than baring its teeth or running, the hound instead gave a tentative wag of its tail. To his consternation, Beth immediately reached out for it, coaxing the dog closer.

"Careful, Beth… you don't know if it's friendly. It could be sick, or have rabies!"

"Oh, I don't think it's sick, Daryl!" She curled her fingers and made a clicking noise in the back of her tongue and the dog slunk a little closer, tail down but wagging in nervous curiosity. From what he could tell, it didn't look aggressive; its ears weren't pinned, its tail and hackles weren't up, and it wasn't baring its teeth at them. Though he wouldn't put it past Beth to turn even an angry dog sweet.

Sure enough it went right to her fingers, sniffing hesitantly for just a moment before it gave her a soft little 'roo' and proceeded to lick at her fingers. In no time at all she was on her knees in front of it, giving it little pets to its head and down its back, her lips turning down when she felt its visible ribs and spine. "Oh, it's so hungry, Daryl…"

"He," he remarked, standing at an angle so that the dog's sex was easier to spot. "It's a male. Reckon it's a Bluetick Coonhound." When Beth gave him a quizzical look, he added, "A huntin' dog. They can track deer, they'll even go after pumas and cougars if they need to defend themselves or their owners. Real smart, and usually a bit loud, though this one seems quiet." He supposed it could have learned to be quiet, to keep itself safe from walkers. "Looks to be young, maybe 3 or 4 at most? Probably was a puppy or barely a yearling when this all started. Must be smart, to have kept itself alive all this time."

"I bet you are a smart boy, aren't you?" Beth slipped into a playful voice, causing the dog's tail to wag a little harder. "Oh yes, yes you are! And I know just what you need, hmm? We have some rabbit entrails that you're gonna just love."

He opened his mouth to argue, but there was no point. He knew what she was going to do regardless, just as he knew exactly what she was going to say a few minutes later while she watched the dog hungrily scarf down the rabbit entrails she'd put inside a bowl for it on the back porch.

"Daryl?" She looked up at him, eyes wide and shining and hopeful, and all he could do was stand there and wait for the inevitable. "Can we keep him?"

He told himself he could say no, but he knew it was a lie. Because the moment she'd gotten down to pet him, he'd already been thinkin' of where they could keep it, how they could train it to help hunt for food for them and itself, and what he'd say to the others when they brought a dog home with them. All he could think of was the way she'd looked that time at the funeral home, when he'd seen that white, one-eyed dog at the back door and it had run away instead of coming inside. She'd looked so sad, so disappointed… and then, after, she'd been gone. Taken from him. He knew logically that the two things weren't connected, but that didn't matter.

Beth wanted this dog. This friendly hunting dog, who he couldn't even argue was going to be a burden, even if he wanted to. It didn't matter. He couldn't say no to her, and she knew it. She saw the resigned look in his eyes and leapt to her feet before he could say a word, flinging her arms around him in a hug and pressing a smack of a kiss to his lips. "Oh thank you thank you thank you! I love you, Daryl Dixon."

"Yeah, yeah." But he smacked her behind as he said it and gave her a little grin. "C'mon. Our dinner is done, too, and I wanna eat it before you decide your new friend is hungrier and needs it more than we do."

But even as he said it he knew that, if she asked, he'd probably give the dog his entire dinner regardless. Because Daryl Dixon would do anything to make Beth Greene smile.

A/N: Well, that was a cute little segue away from everything else. I couldn't resist them finding a dog, they deserve it! Next chapter will get back to the group and the plot should pick up again a bit as we start heading (somewhat) towards the end. I've currently got it planned out for 24 chapters total so, we'll see. As I mentioned above, it's been a bit hard for me to work on this because of my new meds, but I'll try still to post at least once a week. Thank you for the comments on the last chapter, as always, I appreciate them!