A/N (9/29/2013): Although I'm not new to writing fanfiction, this is the first time I've ever delved into the Walking Dead fandom. I never considered the Daryl/Beth pairing until I watched the Comic-Con Season 4 trailer. The scene of Beth and Daryl struck me very strongly, so I ended up hardcore shipping them together despite the age difference. I wanted to write my own version of the events leading up to that moment, which inspired this fic. This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but right now it's looking to be three chapters total. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy the chapter! :D

Editor: Huge thanks to the lovely Orifiel for being my beta reader! Please check out her fics if you're a fan of Mass Effect, Fallout, and Dragon Age. She's a super talented writer and artist :)

Warning(s): Written from Daryl's POV. Possible OOCness and spoilers. Deviation from potential Season 4 timeline.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or any of its characters.

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Temptation

volume i: meeting you was fate

The unspoken rule among the men in the prison was that Hershel's youngest daughter was untouchable. However, once Rick brought the Woodbury survivors, Beth became a hot commodity among the few teenage boys who hadn't been a part of the Governor's army. Later when a few college students joined their group, one idiot seemed to have missed the memo that Beth was off limits. While the other boys had subjected themselves to a "look-but-don't-touch" restriction, Zach seemed adamant on winning the pretty blonde's favor despite the disapproval of the older males, especially those from the original group.

Zach followed Beth wherever she went, whether she was taking care of Judith, tending to the fields, or clearing the fence of walkers. His charm manifested in his flirtation, which ranged from giving her handpicked wild flowers to showing off his fighting prowess when killing walkers. He demonstrated the gift—or perhaps curse—of smooth talking whenever he tossed a compliment that brought a blush to her cheeks or a smile to her lips. But despite the flattery of his blatant affection, Beth didn't seem to return his feelings.

While Daryl usually didn't care about the teens' affairs, Beth was still a part of his immediate family whom he protected first and foremost. Although Zach had proved himself an invaluable member of the group when he accompanied him on the recent Big Spot supply run, Daryl found the former college student's advances rather irritating and unwelcome, especially since Beth seemed uncertain on how to deal with his assertiveness. Even more annoying was that Maggie found Zach's pathetic efforts to be cute; he couldn't fathom how she could find anything remotely positive about a buffoon courting her baby sister.

Daryl currently stood in the guard tower on watch, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he focused on the perimeter of the fence. Even under the cover of darkness, he could still make out the walkers that rattled the chain-link barrier, their growling breaking the silence of the night. Over time, a buildup of the undead had begun to wander outside of their sanctuary, potentially compromising the inhabitants' safety. As he took a drag from his cigarette and pondered this persisting problem, exhaling a trail of smoke, he noticed a lone figure emerge from the entrance of the prison to sit at one of the metal tables in the courtyard. Upon closer inspection, he recognized Beth's form illuminated by the moonlight as she gazed up at the night sky.

While she remained under his watchful eye, it slightly concerned him that she was outside by herself. Still, Daryl understood the need to seek solitude, considering their current living conditions. Although the arrival of the former Woodbury residents and several other new groups had brought along a sense of a normal community, the large number of people all living under the same roof grew quite suffocating. Regardless of the surrounding danger, spending a few moments out in the open and away from the commotion of other humans had a refreshing freedom.

The thought of Beth feeling smothered within their home had never occurred to Daryl, but it made sense since her duties aside from taking care of Judith required her constant presence around other people. Add to that the fact that she had the misfortune of dealing with Zach's overbearing infatuation, and he couldn't blame her for taking her chances with the walkers just to take a breather. If his memory served him correctly, Zach had stepped up his wooing earlier in the day through a serenade in the middle of the common room during lunch, complete with back-up singers and a guitar he had picked up on a run. Poor Beth had been struck speechless out of sheer embarrassment, which Zach had probably taken as impression.

Speak of the devil, Daryl thought wryly as he spotted a second form accompany Beth, identifying the familiar cocky swagger. When he heard their hushed voices, he found himself straining to listen. Hell, I ain't got nothin' better to do.

"So… how'd you like the performance today?" Zach asked as he leaned his back against the tabletop, propping his elbows on the surface. As a southern Florida native, he lacked the typical Southern drawl prevalent among most of the prison populace.

To Beth's relief, he stayed a respectable distance away from her. Shyly tucking a loose tendril behind her ear before folding her hands in her lap, she replied, "It was good. Kinda overwhelmin' gettin' that much attention though."

Zach apparently found her Southern belle charm endearing, evident when he chuckled at her accented answer. He didn't seem keen on maintaining the space between them as he slowly lifted his right arm and casually wrapped it around Beth's slender frame, gently tugging her towards him and eliciting a soft gasp from her. "You're totally worth the notice."

Up in the guard tower, Daryl prepared to impale the boy's offending limb with one of his bolts.

"Thank you," Beth said politely until her eyes drifted to the appendage draped across her shoulders. "Um… you mind movin' your arm? I'm kinda uncomfortable."

"Still playin' hard to get, huh?" Zach smirked without retracting his arm.

An exasperated sigh escaped Beth. "I appreciate the flattery, but I'm not interested in datin' anyone."

"Didn't seem that way to me when we refereed the kids' soccer game," he countered. "I know your type of flirting—shy smiles and lowered eyelashes. Mm-hmm, my favorite kinda girl."

Judging by the appalled expression on Beth's face, Daryl called bullshit on Zach's implied expertise about women.

"I was bein' nice," she defended.

"Or that time you said I had a good voice when we took care of Judith together."

"It was jus' a compliment–"

"And then when you mentioned that I was a natural with kids during story time–"

"Another compliment–"

"Dammit, Beth," Zach snapped, tightening his hold on her and moving to grip her chin with his left hand. He forced her head in his direction and glared at her, ignoring the way she grabbed his wrist in an attempt to wrench his hand away. "Can't keep stringin' a guy along–"

The sudden bolt ricocheting off the steel tabletop interrupted the tense confrontation, breaking them apart. Surprise flooded Zach's face while a relieved Beth quickly scooted away from the boy. They both looked up at the guard tower in unison, knowing the miss was intentional because Daryl always hit his target.

Said man stood with his crossbow in firing stance until he lowered it, revealing the piercing blue of his narrowed eyes. "What part of 'no' ya don't understand, boy?" he yelled out, taking slightly sadistic pleasure in the way Zach flinched at his accusation. "She don't like ya, so leave 'er alone or I'll get your balls next time."

Zach's face paled from pure intimidation, for he knew to never take any of Daryl's threats lightly after hearing of the time the redneck shot an arrow into a Mexican's ass. He jumped to his feet in one abrupt movement, shooting Beth one last angry glance before storming back into the prison.

Rolling his eyes, Daryl scoffed at the rather dramatic departure, his weapon completely descending to a neutral position. The kid was lucky to walk away with both arms intact. He shifted his line of sight back over the ledge of the tower and caught Beth still peering up from where she now stood by the table. While the younger Greene girl certainly didn't possess the ability to unnerve anyone with her large doe eyes, Daryl felt inclined to avert his gaze even with the vast distance between them.

Beth was the epitome of the saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul," and he couldn't bring himself to fully meet her stare when he noticed the glimpse of gratitude and something else expressed in her blue irises. He merely nodded in acknowledgement, hoping that that action alone conveyed what words couldn't. When he saw movement in his periphery, he finally looked back, just in time to see Beth waving at him with a soft smile on her face.

She turned to head back into the prison, but when she began to walk away, he could see that she was still visibly shaken by the encounter with Zach. Times like this reminded him that the living could be as harmful as the undead. Her sister had undergone a more severe version of the event with the Governor while Glenn had been tortured by Merle. And Lori, T-Dog, and Andrea had lost their lives due to the actions of another so-called "human."

Although Daryl found Zach fairly harmless compared to people like the Governor, Beth's vulnerability was enough to spur the man into reaffirming his decision to protect his closest family.

—

The second time Daryl ever helped Beth besides protecting her from walkers involved the most awkward supply run he had ever gone on. Although the process was nothing new, attaining painkillers specifically for menstrual cramps was definitely a first. While the blonde was confined to her bed in the fetal position, he and Maggie were staking out a nearby pharmacy to find something to alleviate her pain.

"Can't you just find 'er some Advil or somethin'?" he asked as he guarded the entrance of the small building while Maggie perused the shelves of the prescription medication stock.

"Ain't an option since all the OTC meds've been looted," she replied without sparing him a glance, trailing her index finger over the labels as she walked along. "We're lucky that Daddy knows enough 'bout medicine to figure out what kinda prescription drugs to get."

"We got a large supply at the prison. You can't just give 'er somethin' from there?"

"All of those are opioid, morphine type of painkillers, way too strong for somethin' like menstrual cramps. We don't need to be knockin' 'er out." Maggie faintly smiled before continuing. "But Ibuprofen can come in prescriptions, so that's what I'm lookin' for."

"She ain't never had this problem till now."

"Yeah, well, ever since the Woodbury people came, Beth ain't been as active with the labor, 'specially now that she's takin' care of Judith. Durin' the first few months, we took care of it with a hot water pad, but it's hit a pretty bad point now. "

Daryl didn't say anything, having returned his attention to his task as a lookout. When the clicking of Maggie's boots on the tile floor suddenly stopped, he turned back to her. "You find somethin'?" he asked, nodding towards the small package she currently held in her hands.

Maggie turned the packet over several times before letting out a sardonic chuckle. "Nah, jus' thinkin' 'bout how ironic it was that Beth was upset findin' my birth control years ago but had to later be put on the pill herself."

Daryl's eyebrows shot up in astonishment. He had always viewed Beth as the more innocent of the two sisters, but this news came out of left field. "She and Jimmy were doin' it?" Bluntness was unquestionably one of his fortes.

"Oh God, no!" Maggie exclaimed, chucking the birth control at him in embarrassment, which he easily dodged. "That's what helped her with her cramps."

"Then why don't you jus' get 'er a buncha birth control then?" He picked up the fallen item and offered it back to her.

She shook her head in declination before continuing to scrutinize the shelves. "Ain't really effective when you don't know the exact time of each day. That's why condoms are so popular these days."

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, and Daryl decided he had found out more than he wanted to about Beth, Maggie, menstruation, and birth control. He chose to say nothing about the brunette's insinuation of her and Glenn's sex life, tossing the pills aside and suddenly finding the empty street outside fascinating. At last, when she found the prescription drug she needed, he didn't think they could leave fast enough. He just wanted to get back home, dump off Beth's cramp meds, and get as far away from the Greene girls as possible for the time being.

Later during dinner that night, a newly recovered Beth finally made an appearance outside of her cell, having overcome the pain. When she spotted Daryl sitting on the stairs by the entrance, she took a seat on the step below his. Oblivious to the tension that radiated from the man, she beamed up at him.

"Thank you for helpin' with gettin' the painkillers. Maggie thinks she freaked you out with TMI." Her smile widened into a grin.

"Ain't that an understatement," Daryl muttered, recalling the unwanted knowledge he had learned that day. Clearing his throat and scraping the remnants of food in his bowl, he said, "You don't need to thank me tho'. Ain't that big o' deal."

When Beth just continued to smile without attempting to argue with him, Daryl realized that she was one of the only people besides Carol and Rick to directly thank him for something. He knew that everyone else acknowledged what he did without having to verbally articulate it, which didn't bother him at all. But hearing it out loud once in a while reminded him that people depended on him, and all he'd wanted his entire life was for others to need him.

This time his eyes met Beth's, and he hoped she understood that he appreciated her gratitude.

—

A month had passed with no accidents until the breach in Cell Block D, which left twelve dead and everyone else on edge. Although Rick, Daryl, and several others had reinforced the fence that had nearly collapsed from the sheer number of walkers, the recent incident still had them doubting the reliability of the fortification. The prison no longer offered the safety it once had, and everyone knew that it was only a matter of time until they had to abandon their sanctuary.

The aftermath found Daryl digging graves with Rick and Tyreese under the sweltering sun. Four graves each kept them busy and quiet, especially since Karen had been among the victims. The sound of Tyreese's heartbreak resonated over his shovel hitting the ground in the form of restrained sobs. Although Daryl and Rick could empathize with the man for losing a loved one, they understood that verbal condolences wouldn't provide sufficient comfort.

As Daryl continuously scooped out dirt, he glowered at the pile of dead walkers waiting for burning not too far away from their makeshift cemetery. They served as a reminder that any sense of security was temporary, that time was always ticking for the living.

When their task was finished, Daryl immediately headed back into the prison, for the burial would take place later that evening. Knowing that Tyreese required solitude to grieve over the death of his girlfriend, he felt a pang in his heart that prompted the memory of his hand in Merle's demise when he had reanimated as a walker. At the time, with the threat of the Governor looming over their heads, Daryl's mourning for his brother had been short-lived.

Walking upstairs in Cell Block C to rest in his cell, he stumbled upon Beth and Maggie frantically searching the other ones and the ground for something. He quirked an eyebrow at their antics as he passed them to enter the miniature enclosure. "The hell are y'all doin'?"

He was instantly taken aback when Beth's head shot up in response, her big blue eyes filled with tears.

"I lost my necklace!" she wailed, sniffling as she shook her head at Maggie to confirm that the lost jewelry's whereabouts remained unknown. She stood from her crouching position and hurriedly ran downstairs to continue her search.

Maggie also drew up to her full height with a sigh before explaining the situation. "Walker snagged her necklace when the breach happened."

The flood of walkers had inconveniently extended into their cell block, resulting in a full-scale sweep of the two adjacent cell blocks to clear out any straggling undead.

Daryl snorted. "Y'all know better'n to wear shit that a walker can grab. Makes their job easier."

An annoyed glare crossed Maggie's features. "That necklace was her sixteenth birthday present from Mom. Last thing she's got to remember her by."

She didn't wait for Daryl to respond, also bounding down the stairs to help her sister locate the missing memento.

A twinge of guilt twisted inside him, but he quickly shrugged it off. He couldn't have known how important the necklace was to Beth, having simply assumed that wearing accessories was a practice she had retained as a teenage girl regardless of the post-apocalyptic world they lived in. Toeing off his boots, he had just plopped onto his bed, ready to take a short snooze, when something glimmered out of the corner of his eye.

Irritated by the curiosity that delayed his nap, he slid off his mattress and squatted to take a look at the thing gleaming from the ground. His fingers wrapped around the tiny object, holding it up for further inspection; he recognized the silver heart as Beth's pendant. Initially wondering how Maggie and Beth had missed it, he remedied that thought at once when he realized his appearance had probably prevented them from searching his cell. His eyes scanned the rest of the floor for the chain, but the endeavor proved unfruitful.

"Walker snagged her necklace."

Although it was unlikely, it was still a possibility. The tearful expression on Beth's face reminded him of the time Carol had cried over Sophia's disappearance. Painfully recalling his failure to find the little girl, Daryl pocketed the heart and yanked his boots back on with a bitter groan before returning outside towards the field where he had been digging earlier. Deliberately disregarding the freshly dug graves, he strode towards the mound of walkers. The number of corpses had him cursing his chivalry, but when he remembered his commitment to his family, he set about inspecting each one.

Well, I'll be damned. More than ten bodies later, he had found the chain ironically within a female walker's clutches. But when he extracted it from her grasp, he discovered that while the chain was still intact, the clasp had broken from the force of the grab.

Daryl highly doubted that a replacement chain would be easy to find. Despite the jewelry departments having stayed relatively untouched since the outbreak began a year ago, he knew enough that anything metal like sterling silver would have tarnished by now. Plus, with the recent scare, leaving the premises to even look for one was out of the question.

He re-entered the prison and headed back towards his cell where he stored his extra hunting supplies. Taking a seat and opening a container full of various types of cords, Daryl sifted through them until he pulled out a black one full of knots, the vague memory of his walker ear necklace briefly flashing in his mind. Retrieving a pair of pliers from a nearby toolbox, he detached the clasp from the chain. His adept fingers slipped the pendant onto the chain before moving on to the cord. He threaded the ends of the cord through the jump rings and knotted them, tugging each knot to test its durability.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Daryl left the compartment to find Beth. He didn't have to put in much effort; she was inside her cell, face buried in a pillow as sobs wracked her petite body. Standing at the open door, he cleared his throat, effectively halting her crying.

Beth raised her head, wiping away tears from her puffy eyes. "Y-yes?"

He held out the repaired necklace. "Lookin' for this?"

She leaped out of her bed in shock and approached him to accept it. Gingerly cradling the trinket, she asked, "W-where'd you find it?"

"Pendant slipped into my cell. Chain was in some walker's hand. Clasp was broken, so I fixed it, but I ain't got much to work with."

Beth unlocked the clasp before redoing it around her neck. The heart dangled lower at her chest instead of directly below her collarbone, but she didn't seem to mind since she proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck and sweetly kiss him on the cheek. She pulled back, the corners of her lips tilted upward.

Although Daryl was startled by the gesture and unused to the affection, he reveled in the feeling of being appreciated and the warmth of Beth's grateful smile.

— — — — —

A/N: I drew a lot of inspiration from the newly released extended trailer as well as the promotional pictures, but as mentioned earlier, I've deviated quite a bit from the canon-verse timeline planned for Season 4 and taken some creative license with Zach's characterization since he hasn't been introduced in the series yet. Since I already have the entire fic planned out, I should have Chapter 2 posted next weekend. Please review—I would love your feedback! Thank you for reading! :)