Daryl's fists clenched at his sides trying to prevent it from coming on but he felt it anyway. That cloying, overpowering urge to unzip his skin from his body and take off running as fast as he could. He often did when he was in the throes of panic, but now here he was stuck in an elevator at the back of a downtown city building. And yeah the chick that was with him was gorgeous but that was not going to help him one fucking bit if he passed out.

The elevator had stopped somewhere between 5 and 6 and he knew his breathing was getting heavy. He brought his hand up to tug on his tie, hoping she wouldn't notice how nervous he was and how he was struggling to hold his shit together. The thing was he hadn't felt this bad since his old man had locked him in the closet after beating him. All he had done was steal an extra cookie from his mama's cookie tin after supper. His Pa had seen him in the act and Daryl had caught the wrong end of a belt, biting into his flesh, ripping and tearing at the ever present scabs. If that wasn't bad enough, he stuck him in the narrow broom closet in the hallway. Daryl had cried and cried, scared of spiders and other things that crawled in the spaces between the walls of that ramshackle cabin he grew up in. The memories of that past life clawed at him like ivy, smothering and creeping in though he tried to keep it all out.

He looked over at the girl who was stuck here with him and she kept sneaking him glances. She got the nerve to speak up first or else they'd have been there all night waiting on one of them to talk.

"My name's Beth." She stuck her phone in her pocket. "Doesn't look like we have cell phone reception down here."

"I'm Daryl," He looked at her nervously and noticed that she was looking at him, her bright blue eyes soft and gentle, trying to put him at ease.

Beth looked over at the man she was now stuck in this metal box with. She was late dropping off the sample for her latest EP. Her agent was in this building and she was already down the street having lunch with her sister, Maggie.

She had decided to pop in after lunch and stop upstairs real quick and the front elevators were being serviced so traffic was being redirected to the back elevators. Looks like they were fixing the wrong set, Beth mused as she stared up at the digital floor indicator. Both 5 and 6 were lit up.

She looked back at Daryl, amused that he was looking at her openly now as if trying to figure her out. She had to admit that he was hot. He had a rugged face, sharp jawline dotted with a five o'clock shadow and it was barely on 1:00 p.m. When he finally looked at her his eyes were the bluest she had ever seen. His shoulders were broad and filled out the three piece suit he was wearing quite nicely.

"What are you in the building for?" Beth asked trying to make conversation as the man clearly looked nervous.

"I had a job interview. I was comin' back to sign the papers." He said. He had gotten the job he had been wanting. They had hired him as foreman on the most up and coming construction company in five counties. It was something he had done before and the pay was not too shabby either.

"Congratulations." She smiled softly at him.

He nodded. He had never really opened up much but there was something about her that made him want to tell her things. "It was a lucky find. I build houses." He had just finished building his own house to be truthful. He decided to tell her that too. He told her how he had built it for the ground up. She nodded politely the whole time he was speaking and seemed to be interested in what he was saying.

"It sounds like you are going to take that company places." Beth tried to put a finger on what it was that drew her to this man but she couldn't figure it out. He was well spoken and his ideas for the company sounded pretty amazing to her, although she knew next to nothing about construction. "I mean I couldn't build a dog house." She laughed.

He smiled at her. "What is you do?"

Just then her phone rang and Beth cringed when she heard the ringtone. Maggie had been messing with her phone again and changed the ring tone to one of Beth's own songs. "Take Home Julie, take up my heart. I'm ready." Beth shut the phone off and slumped in frustration. It was an alarm. She had set it for herself not realizing that Maggie must have changed all of her ring tones. Fabulous.

"That song, is it you?" Daryl looked up at her sharply. She had a smoky voice and so crisp and clear. It was soothing.

Beth noticed that the man was so much calmer. She put her phone back in her purse. She nodded at him. "Yes, that's me. It's one of my newer songs. Not on my EP yet." She smiled at him, and she felt the fire heating up her face at his intense gaze.

"Guess that answers my question." He stopped himself. "Can you maybe sing?" Daryl couldn't believe the words had come from his own mouth. He must be more freaked out than he thought.

Beth shrugged. "You sure."

"It ain't like there's a jukebox in here." Daryl couldn't help the corners of his mouth turning up on that. "You have a pretty voice." Now it was Daryl's turn to shrug his shoulders.

Beth beamed at him and began to sing.

"Oh I wish I was a doctor who could heal your broken heart
Analyze each bruise and hear your story from the start
And stitch up every tie nigh tearWith a ribbon and a bow
Just grab you some new medicine
That makes you feel less aloneNo I am not a doctor
Just an ordinary girl
An all the way you chest aches
The way your head swirlsAnd a bonded beat and broken down
By the one who knew you best
I was sleeping when he cut my veins
The knew only life away

He liked her voice a lot, he realized. He found that he couldn't take his eyes off of her as she sang. He didn't know what it was about her that drew her to him but it was like she was some ethereal creature from another planet. Like an angel. That was it. He caught himself before he went any further. What the fuck was going on?

No I am not a doctor
But I've got some extra time
I've got some drugs
I keep in the stock called vodka and red wineWe both know that your not gonna sleep tonightI am not a doctor
But maybe you could let me try
So I put my hand against your head
I recommend that you stay in bedYour temperature is getting pretty high
Well I hope your ready to pit your drink on ice
No I'll never be a doctorI hated science class
My parents liked to say how I picked up new skills fast
Yet we both got kicked out but we have talents to discover
So lets buckle down get to work
Help you recover

She wondered if she continued the song but she decided she would. She would likely never see the guy again and maybe he wouldn't read too much into the words although her heart raced at the thought of his hands on her. It raced in a way that it hadn't in a very long time and directed her thoughts back to her song before she messed it up with her breathing.

So I put my hand against your head
I recommend that you stay in bed
Your temperature is getting pretty high
Help them get dressed
To put your drink on iceI could be the doctor you could be the patient
Instead of operation
Built to any temptation
There were things she wouldn't do
Baby boy this night
Its all about you

She could feel him watching her as she sang and she didn't know why but she didn't feel nervous around him. It was like she could be here with him and be herself and it was okay and for that one strange moment, it was like they were the only two people on the entire planet. She opened her eyes as the song ended and he moved towards her and she found herself holding her breath until he was right in front of her.

He didn't know what possessed him to leave his comfort zone and walk over to her and stand in front of her. He had never made any advances on a girl ever, but as she finished that song, the words spoke to him, her voice sexy and sultry like honey dripping on warm skin. When she stopped singing and opened her eyes, he caught a glint of something that looked like desire and he acted on instinct, something that he didn't even know he possessed before that moment. Now he stood there in front of her and brought one shaky hand up to the side of her head, cupping her jaw in his hand and threading his fingers through her hair. "I'm gonna kiss you now."

She nodded rapidly, her eyes wide for a moment, then closing as his lips met hers in a soft tentative kiss, the first one he had ever initiated in his entire life. Her lips were warm, soft, pliant and he had never tasted anything sweeter, a mix of strawberry lip gloss and just a hint of Dr. Pepper. He flicked his tongue out experimentally, tracing the seam of her lips and he fought for control of his breathing when she readily opened her mouth and accepted his tongue.

Daryl kissing her in that elevator was most definitely the sexiest, most heady thing Beth had ever experienced in her life and she never wanted him to stop. Eventually they had to break apart to breathe. He pulled away and looked at her, a look of shock on his face.

"I hope that was okay." Daryl could kick himself for saying the first fool thing that popped out of his mouth. He removed his hand from the side of her face and rubbed it over the back of his neck, ducking his eyes from her. Suddenly her hands shot up from her sides and she grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket and pulled him to her backing herself into the wall of the elevator, standing on her tiptoes and pressing her sweet lips right back to his, her tongue now in search of his.

Their kissing was frantic, all tongue and lips and his hands were in her hair and she had her one hand splayed against his chest and the other came up to grip his bicep, squeezing gently. He nearly lost it when she brought one leg up to his hip and rocked her center against him. He moaned into her mouth and she sighed, their every move driven by absolute need.

The intercom buzzed out then and they broke apart. "Ya'll okay down there?" The voice had a southern twang.

Daryl cleared his throat. "Yeah, we're okay."

"How many of you stuck in there?" Static crackled faintly in the line.

"Just me and a lady." He called back.

"Okay, hang tight, we'll have you out in a bit." The intercom went silent and Daryl was forced to look at Beth, who was studying him openly.

"So we'll be gettin' out soon." She said, biting her lower lip.

He nodded and toed his boot along the floor and then looked back up at her, standing there, looking all uncertain and biting her lower lip and said "Fuck it." He was back in front of her in an instant and he kissed her again, slowly this time and got lost in the feeling of being sucked under in a delicious pull of want and he didn't think his body weighed anything and it felt like lead all at the same time. All this from a single kiss. He was mesmerized by her. Beth.

He pulled away and looked at her, rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, unsure of what to say but knowing that he needed to still be in contact with her.

Beth drew in a slightly shaky breath. "You're a really good kisser." She said and then wished she hadn't.

He chuckled low. "That so?" This girl was something, that was for sure. He found himself wondering if she was always this cute or if it was something that wore off over time.

Beth nodded her head and grinned at him because she realized her blunder was the exact thing he probably needed to make him feel more comfortable. "You gonna call me? Or you the kiss 'em and leave 'em type." She wished instantly that the last words could be reeled back into her big mouth.

Daryl smirked at her. "Are you the kiss 'em and leave 'em type?" Was he really flirting with her.

Beth shook her head slightly. "Nope."

"I'm not either." His lips upturned into a smile and Beth nearly melted on the spot. She decided he needed to smile more often.

"Give me your phone." She said then laughed as he gave her a strange look. "Trust me." She rolled her eyes at him.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her, watching her intently as she programmed her number in. She looked back up at him, handing his phone back. "You want mine?"

"Why are you not going to call?" She teased.

He heard the challenge in her voice and he thought that maybe this girl that he just met might know him better than he did himself. "I'm gonna call." He meant it too. He'd do it to prove her wrong. He'd do it to prove himself wrong.

The elevator started moving again and they began to ascend a short ways until it stopped on seven. The doors opened and she got off in the small lobby of her agents office.

Beth turned as Daryl held the door open. "Talk to you soon, Beth." He wanted to memorize every single bit of her face so he could recall to her memory later when he remembered how her lips felt against his.

She waved her fingers slightly and waited as the doors closed, feeling oddly bereft as he disappeared from her sight. She sighed and turned toward her agent's office and dropped her CD on his desk. He was probably out to lunch, where she should be right now. Maggie! She was going to kill her. She fished her phone out of her pocket and it was already ringing in her hand.

"I'm on my way. I got stuck in an elevator." She breathed into the phone as she headed back to the elevator.

"Oh my god, Bethy. I'm glad you're okay. I was gettin' worried." Maggie said. She was always one to worry.

"I'm fine Mags. See you soon." She hung up and placed her phone back in her pocket.

Thinking twice about getting stuck in the elevator again, she took the stairs all the way down to the ground floor. She had just reached the bottom floor when her phone started ringing again. The now annoying strains of her own song poured out of her phone again. She was going to murder her sister.

"Hello?" Beth opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Hey." His voice was gravelly over the phone and her heart did a literal somersault at the sound.

"Hey yourself!" She said. She couldn't keep the wide smile off her face if she tried.

"You seem surprised I called you. Told ya I would." He knew he was smug but he was feeling so damn good he couldn't help it. He figured he'd better call her now before he lost the nerve.

"I didn't doubt it." She shot back.

"What are ya doin' tonight? I know it's last minute, but I'd like to take you out." He held his breath, his face feeling like it was on fire while he awaited her reply. A pretty girl like her was probably busy, he chastised himself.

"Pick me up at 7:30? I'll text you my address." She said, that silky honey voice drifting into his subconscious and making him feel like his skin was too small for him all the sudden.

"Okay. See you then, Beth." He liked how her name sounded on his lips. He no sooner ended the call and he got a new text notification.

Beth: 1450-D Peachtree Meadows Apartments. Can't wait. 3

He looked at the address and wondered at the arrow and three thing and figured he'd Google it later. Just then her picture popped up and he felt like someone had jump started his heart with a car battery. There she was, her lips still full and cheeks still red from his kisses, her smile brighter than anything he'd ever seen. He typed out a quick reply and smiled to himself as he put his phone back in his pocket. The picture didn't do her justice. She was far too beautiful to capture on one photo, but it would do until he could see her face to face again. He glanced at the time on his phone display. Only 6 more hours and he could see her again. He could hardly wait.

Well this took forever but this is a prompt that was given to me awhile back by mizxmacmanus. She wanted an elevator fic. I didn't want them to have total sex in the elevator but hot kissing? Yes please! Also I could not get Emily Kinney's lyrics out of my head "elevator kisses, you and I". So here you go. Reviews please? Until next time, xoxoxo