Hi! I am Kari and this is not only the first story I have shared with anyone BUT also my story written for Beth and Daryl. So, please forgive me if they get a little ooc or something. Anyway, I hope enjoy the story and leave me a review! I would love feedback on how to improve my writing or even just hearing your thoughts!

NOTE: Beth is 17 in the start of this story and Daryl is 2. This is an AU story so there will not be any walkers or major fighting.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Walking Dead. If I did Beth and Daryl would have already done the dirty and we would see a lot more of a shirtless Norman Reedus! lol

CHAPTER ONE:

A Night at Dolly's

Beth wasn't normally allowed to work the midnight shift but since school had just let out for the summer her mama and daddy had finally given her permission to take on a few extra shifts down at Dolly's Diner. It wasn't really a diner but a full service truck stop with a gas station, restaurant and a mechanic shop, where she has worked since she was sixteen.

There were only four customers in the diner, two of which were hunched over their plates passed out cold from a long night of drinking. The other two were truckers who had only stopped to refuel and get a quick cup of coffee before hitting the road again.

She made a quick round, waking up the drunks making them pay and then head on out then made sure that the truckers didn't want a refill. After that she sat behind the counter where she stashed a few books. Grabbing the one on the top of the stack she started to try and pass the time by reading, hoping that business would pick up at least a little.

An empty diner, eleven chapters and forty-five minutes later the bell above the door finally chimed signaling that a customer had just walked in. When she looked up to see who it was she was not expecting what she saw.

The Dixon brothers.

The taller of the two, Merle, was well known around town for his multiple run ins with the police over various different charges. He was constantly in out of jail but it would seem that he was currently on a vacation from his cell. It was only a matter of time before he would land himself back in the pin but for now he was a paying customer so she would make nice like she was suppose too. He wasn't worth losing her job over.

Switching her attention to Merle's younger brother, Daryl that was standing just a little ways behind him. He was in his usual attire of ripped jeans, brown lace-up leather boots, a faded plaid flannel and his leather vest with the angel wings on the back. His blue eyes were bright and looked a little heavy as though he was ready to get some sleep but they were still beautiful to her. They had always had a hidden kindness behind them and even the folks around town found it hard to believe that he was related to Merle or the towns drunk, William Dixon. Everyone knew the Dixon home had been anything but loving but somehow Daryl had come out of it without a seemingly mean bone in his body. That wasn't to say that he wasn't rough around the edges though.

She knew of a few incidents where he had been in fights. Most of them caused by something his brother had done or when he would have to pull his pa, who could barely remember his name out of one of the local pubs. Other than that he usually stuck to himself with his head down and not paying a mind to what people said about his family behind their backs. They might like Daryl just fine but his family still gave the gossips around town plenty to talk about.

Coming out of her thoughts she stood up just as they took their seats at the very back and made her way over to see about getting them something to drink. As soon as she was in arms reach Merle grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

"Well, hey there Blondie! What is a pretty little thing like doing working in place like this?" he sneered before reaching around and grabbing hand full of her hind end making her jump and her eyes widen.

Within seconds Daryl shot his hand out slapping his brother's hand away from Beth giving her enough time to step back a few paces. "Knock it off Merle…she don't need this shit from you."

"It was all in good fun little brother; maybe you should try it sometime. It might loosen that stick you got shoved too far up yer ass." Merle replied with a rugged laugh and a not too appropriate once over of Beth.

Ignoring his brother completely Daryl looked up at Beth, "We'd like two coffees and whatever the special is this week, girl."

Nodding her head mutely she wrote it all down and then turned to drop the order off with the cook. She had just poured the second coffee and was about to deliver it when she found Daryl standing behind her at the counter. He was looking at her strangely and she wasn't too sure what to think about his expression and was about to ask if there was a problem when he spoke.

"I can take those for ya…" then he grabbed them from her hands. He stood there for another moment just looking at her and then walked back to where his brother sat waiting.

After the little bit of trouble with Merle when they first arrived there weren't any more incidents. She had just delivered their food and was now back at the counter with her book in hand. There wasn't a whole lot of reading getting done though because she was too preoccupied with the way his jaw moved when he chewed or how he looked with that little smirk on his face when his brother would say something he found funny.

She could freely admit to herself that she had had a crush on the younger Dixon since her daddy hired him one summer when she had been 14 because they had needed a little extra help on her family's farm. He ended up working for them for almost four months before getting a job as a mechanic at the Auto Shop that was part of the truck stop. He had come knocking on their door one night and explained to her daddy that he appreciated the time that he had spent on the farm but that he couldn't really pass up on the offer he had been given.

Hershel Greene had patted him on his back and wished him well in the future while at the same time taking note that he would hire the boy back in an instant if he ever got the opportunity. Her dad still thought highly of him.

But Beth could remember watching him as he worked around the farm fixing the barn up after one particularly bad storm. He hadn't had a shirt on and had sweat dripping down his back with a streak of dirt on one cheek. She thought he was so handsome in that moment that her breathing had actually stopped for a few seconds. He had caught her staring and smiled when her face turned beat red before she high tailed it back to the house to help her mama with dinner.

They had shared a few brief conversations after that but not much more than just the pleasant greeting. Since then though, every time she would see him in the diner or around town she could help but stare.

An hour later as she watched them walk out after paying for their meal. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe someday he could see her as woman and not the little girl he remembered her as on the farm.