Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.

Moments

Chapter 5

The incessant tapping on her thigh was what woke her from her restless sleep. At first Beth slapped the hand tapping against her away, but it returned persistently 'til she was wide awake and rather annoyed too. Groggily she turned over to give whomever woke her the driest expression she could muster.

Crouched down looking slightly awkward was Daryl. Her face quickly retracted the look though it was too late for him not to have seen it, even with the lack of lighting in her room. He was known to have very good night vision, sorta like a cat in those regards. He even stalked around like a cat would prey.

"So this vistin' me at night…is it gonna be a common occurrence?" Beth asked as she scooted up to face him better. He shrugged at first then scrubbed a hand over his face.

His reply came a moment later. "Maybe, I dunno. Couldn't sleep."

Staring at Daryl she could make out the dark lines under his eyes giving him an owlish look that was not an appealing one. He looked rundown and it worried her. It was only just yesterday they had the meeting and he was giving her the rub down of her life. What could change in a short few hours?

"What's been keepin' you awake?" The blonde inquired, eyeing his tense posture. There was a stiff appearance in his shoulders as though he was ready to burst from her cell at any moment for any reason. Beth gripped the edge of her blanket as she waited for Daryl to collect his thoughts and voice them to her.

"Thangs that were said durin' the meetin', and you." The way he said, 'and you' sent a shiver down her back. The gravel in his voice was much deeper than normal considering his lack of sleep and so was causing a reaction in her. Beth gaped as she managed to voice back, "And what about me?"

She smiled, hoping that the heat in her cheeks wasn't terribly as noticeable to him as it was to her.

The dark lines were actually making his eyes even smokier than before, mentally she was taking back her thoughts of how unappealing and worrisome they were; well they were still worrisome but definitely not unappealing especially if he kept staring at her like he was.

"I…I ain't gone too far last night, did I?" Daryl grumbled out, boring his stare into her eyes as though expecting her to lie, or something.

"No, no not at all," Beth laughed softly yet awkwardly, "it's funny that ya say that 'cause earlier yesterday I was thinkin' the same exact thing." She scooted closer to the wall and patted the spot beside her. The archer hitched a brow before obeying her wordless command, his butt barely fit and Beth was squeezed up between the wall and him.

It took a bit of maneuvering before they were both comfortable, or as comfortable as they were going to get. Beth was happy to just have Daryl there beside her, touching her and being intimate like this rather than him crouching down by her bed like a night stalker. After getting situated she thought her words out carefully before voicing them.

"I was stunned that ya would be so…bold, but…" Beth shrugged her shoulders, feeling her arm brush slowly up and down his own arm. Heat was starting to well up inside her, it was like she was a heater that got plugged in and was slowly working up the heat. "I don't think ya went too far. Did I?" Daryl shook his head instantly, placing a hand on her thigh and giving it a squeeze.

"Nah, ya damn near made me shit my pants, but I ain't mad 'bout it." Beth nudged her knee against his.

"Then where did ya go? I went lookin', but I couldn't find ya."

Daryl gave her a ludicrous look then commented lowly, "I sorta had a problem ta solve…"

It didn't even take her half a second to realize what he was referring to. She didn't know why she had not thought of that way earlier, that could have saved her a huge headache and bout of annoyance and worry. Now though she was starting to feel almost too warm, heat blossoming more on her cheeks and another kind of heat warming her lower belly as thoughts and images of Daryl 'solving' his problem spun around in her head.

Suddenly the small cell was unbearably hot so she kicked off her covers to reveal a long, oversized shirt and cotton shorts. Beth felt a bit embarrassed that she hadn't shaved in a few days though she was lucky that the hairs on her legs were blonde and barely noticeable, they were still there though and she didn't exactly want Daryl to feel them.

Apparently he didn't think so, she could almost feel Daryl's eyes as they roamed and drank her body in. Another pooling of heat made her squeeze her thighs tightly together. The blonde never realized how affected she truly was by him, just his stare alone was getting her turned on. Though they were both pressed against each other and his hand was on her thigh it was pretty modest and innocent, at least compared to the look in his eyes.

Everything seemed so innocent a moment ago…

Slowly Daryl's hand flexed against her thigh, pulling up her cotton shorts and allowing the very tips of his fingers to gently graze her skin. Beth eyes slowly traveled up his arm to connect with his. There was mischief within his blue orbs, but also desire. The inside of her mouth grew dry with need and she could feel a trembling in her arms down to her fingers.

Beth gripped her hands around the end of her baggy shirt as she continued her staring contest with Daryl. The silence in the air was charged with what Beth could only describe as sexual tension so heavy that she was surprised it didn't physically weigh her down.

"Wanna continue where we left off?" He spoke so softly she barely acknowledged he had said anything at all.

Beth opened her mouth to speak, but no words came to her. 'What a time to go speechless,' she thought before clamping her mouth shut and gave a hum of approval. Daryl gave her a sweet, crocked smile at her response. He pulled her further down the bed along with himself so they were both lying on their backs with her more so than he was. He then instructed quietly for her to get on her side with her back towards him, facing the wall. It wasn't the best view, but the inky blackness of night somehow set the mood, bringing in a sense of excitement at the prospect of what Daryl would soon be doing to her body.

Once she was pressed against his chest did she let out a breath of nervous air, excitement still there though, bubbling underneath her skin and causing little tendrils of pleasure from the warm of his chest pressed so deeply against her back. The touch of his fingers lightly tracing over her neck as Daryl pushed aside her hair startled her, resulting in a slight jump in his arms. A chuckle low and filled with warmth entered Beth's ears, easing the tension in her shoulders. Suddenly his lips started to lightly tease the back of her neck as his right hand freely pushed under her shirt to draw lines and circles on the skin of her belly. The feeling soothed her rambunctious nerves and she slowly relaxed in his embrace further, her eyes closing against her will. She was somehow more nervous being with just them alone in her cell with the veil of night over the touching that occurred with everyone around and underneath a table, it was a strange feeling.

Beth supposed it had to do with the fact that this would be the first time they were both utterly alone while doing something so sexual. General touching and kissing aside, what was about to take place went beyond what Beth was really familiar with, that is not including what occurred just last night. Though that was minimal at best to what she assumed was to come. Sighing at her thoughts, she concentrated on the feel of Daryl's fingers upon her skin and the little tingles of pleasure seeping into her nerves than the racing thoughts in her mind.

His fingers dipping under the band of her shorts startled her as they brushed down the fronts of her undies. Daryl's lips moved along her neck, his teeth brushing against the sensitive nape. Beth's voice hitched in her throat, she was once more holding back from moaning, more over the fact that she wasn't sure how loud she would be. The sensations were overloading and yet at the same time not enough. She craved for more, she almost needed more, especially for the growing pressure in her belly.

A groan left her lips as Daryl lightly sunk his teeth into the nape of her neck. Then his teasing fingers dipped lower, invading the cotton covered area between her legs. Gasping Beth widen her legs as opposed to closing like she had done last night. His hand took up quite a bit of space, so widening her legs better accommodated him. His fingers started a rubbing motion of back and forth, a slow process that was helping to ignite more heat inside her.

Beth flung her right hand behind her to thread through Daryl's messy hair as his fingers pressed, probed, and rubbed in circles. He wasn't even touching her skin and already she was falling apart. Her hips rolled with his hand movements washing more pleasure over her. If this felt great then his fingers on her skin should be amazing. With that thought process Beth reached down with her free hand that had been held over her mouth in case of voicing out her approval a little too loudly, letting it slip underneath her shorts to place on top of Daryl's. His movements stopped upon feeling her hand on his. Quickly her fingers moved over his to push aside the strip of her underwear to let his fingers touch her, skin to skin.

The pleasure that came did not disappoint. It was even more intense than before, his fingers were moving slowly at first, letting Beth grow use to the sensitive touch of his fingers on such an untouched area. Without her consent, her hips started pushing forward against his hand and fingers, creating a new friction and working against his own movements. Her teeth came over her lips to keep from speaking louder than mumbles and gasps, her hand that had once covered her mouth was still tightly grasped over Daryl's hand, merely hanging on for dear life over helping, or stopping. The sound of ragged breathing behind her ear told her how much affected by the situation Daryl was, his own hips moving just a little bit against her bottom.

Beth's right leg slung further over Daryl's to give more room though on the inside she wanted to close her thighs tightly around his hand to bring more friction. A groan echoed in her ear, "mmmh, Beth…" Hearing the deepness of his voice, barely audible over her own gasping and moaning brought upon her another burst of heat and pleasure.

The pressure was building in her belly, a distinct sense of release similar to her having to pee came upon her; she knew the end was near. Daryl worked his fingers like magic, playing her so easily like he would with his crossbow.

His movements quick and swift yet precise and hitting on target, in this being the hidden nub above her slit. When his middle finger pressed down with just the right amount of pressure everything exploded. Beth was pretty sure she was loud then but she couldn't hold herself back much longer. Daryl prolonged the pleasure singing through her nerves, continuing his delicious touches to her flesh 'til she came down from her high and her lips came to a stop. His fingers drifted away, righting her undies then slipping out from her shorts to wrap around her body.

They both laid there in the aftermath in comfortable silence as Beth's heart rate slowed to a normal, steady pace and both their breathing settled down. Breathing softly she turned towards the archer, her hand still buried in his hair helped to guide his lips to hers for an impeccably sweet pressing of lips.

The blonde held the kiss for several long seconds, relishing in the intimacy of their embrace and kiss. Daryl wasn't always one for being close and intimate, he liked having a healthy distance for himself, so when he was willing and in the mood Beth couldn't pass a moments chance of enjoying and prolonging that time. She felt incredibly secure, like a safety blanket wrapped around her, which was how Daryl made her feel especially right now.

Daryl hummed against her lips then pulled away with a barely contained yawn. "Sorry," he mumbled, brushing his nose along hers in a sweet gesture of his love. Too bad it wasn't to last much longer. "I should head back ta my cell," he eventually continued, saddening her when she realized their moment together has long since passed.

"Hmm, I don't want ya to go," Beth pouted, turning over to cling to him. Daryl sighed, his arms squeezing her tightly as though to reassure her that he too didn't want to go, but he still slowly released her. "At least wait 'til I fall asleep," she begged, refusing to let him go just yet.

"Beth," he groaned, sounding an awful lot like he was considering it.

"Please," she added. Pulling back only enough to flash her puppy dog eyes, he couldn't resist the eyes.

Daryl snorted in response before sighing with defeat. "Fine," he grumbled half-heartedly, pulling her back into his chest, "but only 'til ya fall asleep."

"Victory!" Beth joyously cheered gaining a grunt from the redneck.

"Victory? I could jus' go ya know…" The blonde quickly draped herself over Daryl's body and basically became dead weight on him. He coughed at the sudden weigh grunting, "ya ain't light, ya know."

Beth just stuck her tongue out at him before pulling away the v-neck of his button down shirt to place her ear and cheek against his own skin. Heat radiated off him like crazy, it was relaxing for her with the prison getting so cold at night lately. It was getting closer to winter than any of them really liked. After a moment she felt his arm come around her back to land on her shoulder blade as his other hand came around her waist to land on the small of her back.

A sense of peace came over Beth as she laid there, listening to the faint heartbeat near her ear and his breathing above her head. Every time they were close like this it always left her feeling surreal and dream-like. It still shocks her when she thinks about the fact that her and Daryl were together. Even now within his embrace Beth felt like she was dreaming, imagining Daryl was here in her grasp. It wasn't necessarily self-doubt, just a dash of disbelief that plagued her when she thought too deeply about Daryl and her.

The blonde closed her eyes, willing away the bits of disbelief whispering around in her ears. She turned to curl even more into him when her knee bumped a rather large lump. She froze instantly and so did Daryl. Beth held her breath as realization dawned on her exactly what it was she had bumped her knee into. Logically, of course he would have that reaction, especially given the activity they had just participated in, not to mention he had been grounding his hips into her bottom as well. Still, knowing something and feeling that something are two very different things. She could know how he'll react at anything, but feeling it first hand is a different territory. A flash of her foot rubbing him came to her and it was becoming unbearably hot now.

Daryl said nothing, so Beth took that as a sign to be quiet and not acknowledge it. He wasn't, so she won't either.

With that lingering thought in mind she slowly drifted her knee away from his…sensitive area to link her ankle around of his instead. A much safer area in all. Once the heat drained from her face it was then the blonde was able to finally drift off to sleep…

Waking up alone was more than a bit disheartening, the heat coming from her blankets was nothing compared to the heat Daryl produced on his own. Sighing at his lack of heat on her body, Beth pushed back her blanket to get up and start the day.

Once she was presentable she headed to Rick's cell to check on Judith, she hadn't heard the baby make a peep throughout the night, it was possible Carol, or Rick got her but she needed to be sure. Just as she left her cell and got close to Rick's did Beth catch sight of Maggie in the common area. Her sister looked up to Beth with a very curious expression on her face. It was a strange mixture of a knowing but suspicious look and yet questionable and curious all at the same time.

That expression didn't bode well for Beth though.

Feeling apprehensive upon seeing that expression and even more so when her sister changed directions and started heading her way, the blonde quickly glanced into Rick's cell to see Judith's bed empty and no sight of the baby girl. Her heart started to pound worriedly inside her chest as Maggie came closer. No Judith to distract her, or draw her away from her sister.

What was the expression about? She had a sickening thought that Maggie may know what her and Daryl were doing during the meeting. Unfortunately all the memories she had of her sister yesterday consisted of watching her worriedly. She had escaped last night thanks to Daryl, but now there was no escape. Beth moved to step back as though ready to bolt when Maggie grabbed a hold of her shoulder to keep her still.

"Beth, can we talk?" Maggie stated, not really questioning her since Beth had no real choice in the matter.

Beth hoped she didn't look as nervous as she felt, she clasped her hands together to ease the shake in them. "Yeah, sure."

Maggie nodded then led Beth to her cell causing her to grow even more nervous. She looked around hoping for someone to save her from this likely to be awkward conversation, but there was no one around. She was on her own.

"Beth."

"Coming." The blonde said softly, following into the small cell to lean back against the wall as Maggie sat down on the bed.

"Ya could sit with me ya know," Maggie commented, arching a brow at her. Beth managed to produce a smile that didn't falter as she held it while she placed her hands behind her back to hide any shaking.

"I know what ya do in that bed. I'll pass." Her sister rolled her eyes, mumbling, "Do what ya want."

"So…whatcha wanna talk about?" Beth questioned, resisting the urge to tap her foot. The air between them, in her opinion, was somewhat strangled and thick. Whatever her sister wanted to talk about it was pretty serious.

"I'll git right ta the point…Are you…" Beth closed her eyes as her cheeks burned in embarrassment. She knew Maggie was gonna mention her and Daryl, there was nothing else she could possibly-"masturbating?" Beth's eyes flew open as she coughed violently. She didn't even realize she held her breath.

"WHAT?!" Beth coughed out loudly, patting her chest wildly to ease her heaving chest as her eyes stared at Maggie in disbelief. She shrugged like it was the most normal of things to ask.

"Well ya were awfully loud last night, and I had my suspicions during the meetin' too."

Beth felt mortified as her sister relayed her thoughts to her. She wanted to shout at her sister, how could she think she would do that?! Not to mention her hands were on the table during the whole meeting! "But, my hands!?" Beth managed to spit out. Maggie shrugged again, this time with a knowing smile.

"Ya can still get off squeezin' yer thighs." The blonde slapped both hands over her face and let herself fall onto the bed, nasty sex germs be damned. "Was I right?" Maggie asked cheekily, giving Beth a once over like she was truly seeing her for the first time.

Beth wanted to say otherwise, but she knew if she did that her sister would want to know what was really going on. She promised Daryl she would keep quiet for now and she knew Maggie wasn't very approving of the pairing. She wasn't sure what upset her more, that her sister thought she would do such a thing, or that she could not imagine Daryl being interested in her to the point that she would believe Beth to masturbate willingly during the meeting. Either one was just as upsetting, but the mere fact that she didn't even think that Daryl had at least one hand under the table the whole meeting bothered Beth.

It was suppose to be a good thing that her sister didn't find out about them, but at the same time it was upsetting her more because Maggie didn't think that in a million years that Daryl would respond in kind to her crush. The logical side of her brain was trying to tell her that it was big sister logic, that she believed something else so easily because she doesn't want the reality to be true. Even then though that still meant Maggie would never be supportive. Tears welled up in her eyes as a heaviness appeared in her chest and throat.

All she wanted to do was cry, but Maggie was nudging her annoyingly, trying to get an answer out of her. So grudgingly she was prompted to answer the question.

"I hate you…" Beth mumbled from behind her hands, her sisterly way of admitting truth, a half truth but a truth nonetheless.

"I knew it! Aw my little sister is growing up!"

She groaned when she felt Maggie flop on her, burying her face beside her lovingly. Though what was discussed was mortifying on so many levels and extremely uncomfortable, Beth was somewhat happy her sister hadn't really figured it all out. It was for the best in the end.

It was a consist struggle in her chest though. Beth could feel so full and content at times and yet just as quickly she could feel so very empty as well, like a giant hole appeared in her chest. She figured it was probably best to ignore that feeling for now, at the very least push it back to later think about as she laid in bed. Eventually the feeling would go away, or be solved at some point.

So Beth hoped…

A/N: So a lot of stuff weighing heavily on Beth at the moment. She's a very honest person, so for her to keep hushed about her relationship with Daryl is starting to and will get to her. Hopefully Beth can get all this figured out and Daryl can get over his fear. Hope I got y'all with Beth believing Maggie knows. That's what she was gonna go talk to Beth the other night at the meeting, but Daryl saved her and their little escapade earlier in the morning only solidified Maggie's belief that Beth was masturbating.

To be honest she kind of was. Lol.

Only a few of y'all know this from my snippet stories, but on November 7th at four in the morning my grandma passed away from a massive heart attack. It's been pretty hard for me in certain aspects, more so on my mom, especially this past Christmas. My grandma was a big believer in my writing, she always wanted to have the right to brag and say her grandbaby was an author, she always wanted to read my stuff but I was so nervous to let her do that. Hell, I hate letting my friends see my work because I get embarrassed that it isn't as good as they would expect. So I never really let her read much of anything, it's something I really regret and wish I could do over.

Anyways, I thought I would let y'all know since ya guys were so supportive of me and I truly appreciate it so much. It's been hard trying to get back into writing, since every time I've tried typing it would remind me of my grandma and I would start balling. Haha…so yeah, please be patient with me. I mostly had this chapter written, just needed to type it out on my laptop. As a new year's resolution I am going to finish all my stories this year, no exceptions!

Anywho let me know whatcha think and drop me a review! I'm out…

ALCzysz17