"What changed your mind?" she asked, her voice barely betraying the hope she felt.

"Well...you know," he responded, looking at her a heartbeat longer than he should have. He had given up on denying what he'd felt growing between them.

Their family was gone...dead, for all he knew. What little was left in this death-ravaged world was sitting across the room from him. Her golden light, her kindness, her innocence. Beth. She was all he had and all he wanted. He hadn't realized it until now, until he heard her singing to him in the abandoned funeral home. She was what he wanted, she was all there was for him, she was his light in this gloomy world.

She blushed. The creeping redness in her cheeks betrayed the calm she had been trying to put forward. She knew what she wanted, it was him. His roughness, his hidden depths. She had been drawn to him before she even knew it. Beth had followed Daryl out of the burning prison on instinct; he was the only member of her family she could find. But now, she knew that she had sought him out when the prison fell. He was her protector, her partner, the one she looked for, the one she trusted.

He crossed the small dingy room to her and crouched in front her. Daryl held his hands out in front of him. He was silent, and reluctant to meet her eyes. Beth looked at his hands and inhaled deeply. Slowly, she lifted her hands and placed them in his. She watched as he softly slid his thumb across the back of her hand and she let out a shuttering breath at his touch. At the sound of her exhale he started to pull away.

"No!" Beth exclaimed. "No," she repeated softly. "Please don't."

"Are you sure Beth?" he asked quietly, look down at their joined hands. "I'm not who Hershel would want for you."

"Daryl Dixon. I don't want to hear you say that," she responded fiercely. "You're...everything I have ever wanted." She blushed at how silly she sounded and laughed under her breath.

He laughed, a clear sound that rang throughout the house. He knew he should have backed away, stood up, anything to put distance between them, but he couldn't make himself do it. His heart sped up at her words and he said a silent prayer that she meant it.

He leaned forward slowly, giving her time to change her mind. She remained still, watching him closely as he inched towards her. He stopped as their noses brushed against each other and flicked his eyes up to her gaze. She met his stare and breathed out, "Please..."

Daryl closed the distance between them, brushing his rough lips against hers. He had never tasted anything so sweet as Beth. She responded in kind, following his lead. Soft and then firm, she slowly and tentatively slid her tongue across his bottom lip. Daryl groaned and pressed his forehead against Beth's, breaking the contact between their lips.

"Oh Jesus Beth," he whispered, his breath ragged. "I want to do right by you, but I ain't...good at this."

Beth giggled and closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against his. "I ain't either Daryl. I ain't ever done anything but kiss boys before. Is that ok?"

Daryl moaned, running his palms up and down her thighs. "Ok? Beth you're likely to kill me with that kind of talk." He laughed again and opened his eyes to meet hers. "I will do whatever you want me to do, and I will stop whenever you want me to stop."

Internally Beth breathed a sigh of relief. She was nervous. All of this was so new; the feelings she had for Daryl, the sensations his hands caused deep inside her. But she wanted this. She wanted him.

Beth leaned forward and softly placed her lips against the corner of his mouth and whispered, "Please."