Ok...be gentle. I will be the first to say I was meant to be a fanfiction READER, not a writer. However, this idea came to me while watching an episode of Hart of Dixie (titled the Crush and the Crossbow...how perfect is that?!) so I decided to try it out. Not sure where I will go with this exactly and I have no idea how long it will be but this is what I have for now. Let me know what you think...any tips are encouraged and appreciated!

P.S. Ages have been changed. Beth is 25, Daryl is 33.

Edited 3/9/14

Beth sat in the passenger seat of Zach's shiny black Charger, staring out the window as the Georgia scenery flashed by, almost as fast as the thoughts racing through her mind. After packing her bags and heading off...no, running off to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a famous singer, she was coming home again. The thought of that brought a small smile to her lips while simultaneously making her feel like her insides were being tied into a knot. As if reading her mind, Beth realized Zach was interrupting her thoughts.

"You nervous or something?" He reached over to grab her hand out of her lap and gave it a squeeze. "Looks like your fingers could use a break." He grinned at her while nodding down to her hands. Beth looked down and saw she had been picking at her cuticles, and that yes they did look a little raw. She cleared her throat and did her best to sound normal.

"Sorry, old habit I guess." It, in fact, was an old habit. One she hadn't done in the three and a half years she had been gone. It was one of the things they had teased each other about. Her picking at her cuticles while he gnawed on his thumb. It was probably one of the only things they had slightly in common. Beth shook her head as the thoughts of him entered her mind. He was the reason she left and he was part of the reason she was coming home, but she didn't want to cross that bridge until she came to it.

Trying to distract herself from her own mind, Beth tried changing the topic. "Are you excited about meeting Mama and Daddy?"

Zach glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "If by excited you mean completely terrified, then yeah, sure."

Beth laughed and shook her head. "You'll be fine. Mama'll love you and Daddy just wants me to be happy."

"Yeah, well I feel like I shoulda asked for his blessing or something." Zach had one hand on the wheel, the other still held her left hand as he brushed his fingers over the diamond ring on her finger. Beth wasn't really a fan of diamonds but she hadn't had the heart to tell that to him when he got down on one knee in the middle of Times Square and asked her to make him the happiest man in the world. The entire proposal wasn't anything like Beth, but she figured she loved Zach, or at least that's what she told herself.

"Nonsense...I'm sure he'll be thrilled. Like I said, that man just wants to see me happy."

Zach was a nice guy who treated her right, and sure, she liked him enough, but he didn't give her those butterflies in her stomach, and she certainly didn't see fireworks when they kissed. To Beth, fireworks were very very important. Still, Beth had agreed to marry Zach, and even with the second guessing of herself, she felt as though she was ultimately making the right choice.

Now here they were, having driven all the way from New York to Georgia so Zach could meet her parents and so Beth could tie up some loose ends.

After another few hours of driving, mostly in silence, Zach and Beth pulled off onto the dirt road that led up to her parents' farm house. They passed the tree that Beth had fallen out of when she was 6 which left her with a broken arm. She could see the pond in the distance where she had thrown Maggie's birth control pills. It was little things like these about her home that brought on a wave of memories. Beth started to tear up with a smile on her face, feeling overwhelmed with being back, and Zach looked over and gave her hand a firm squeeze.

They pulled up past the gate and Beth's breath caught in her throat as she looked at her childhood home before her. It looked exactly the same, like she had never even left. Zach slowed the car to a stop as Beth's father, Hershel Greene stepped out onto the porch. Before Zach could even put the car in park, Beth had thrown the door open and was running up the steps, right into her father's arms.

Beth was a wreck. She clung to her dad for dear life, not being able to get out anything but sobs. Hershel had his arms wrapped around Beth and kissed the top of her head.

"Welcome home Bethy."

Again, she could get out nothing more than her cries. Zach stood by the car, passenger door still open, staring at the two. He was trying to think of what he should do when the screen door on the porch opened and out stepped a woman who looked like a much older version of Beth. He guessed it was her mother.

"Hershel, what is going-Oh Beth is that you?" She cut herself off as she saw her youngest daughter wrapped up in her father's arms. Beth, whose sobs had quieted down to a loud whimpering, pulled back from Hershel as soon as she saw her mother, and then she threw her arms around her and the sobs returned.

Zach shifted his feet, feeling like he was intruding. Hershel looked at the man standing next to the new muscle car and raised his eyebrows, not saying a word, thus making Zach feel even more awkward. Beth pulled herself together enough to pull away from her mom, sniffling.

"Oh gosh, I'm a mess. I'm sorry. Mama, Daddy, this is Zach." She gestured to Zach who was still just standing there next to his car.

"He's my fiance."

Annette's eyes widened as Hershel just continued to stare.

Zach gave a small wave. "Hello." This seemed to snap Annette out of her shock.

"Oh my! Well get up here and let me get a look at you!" Zach made his way up the steps and was quickly engulfed into a hug by Beth's mom. He turned to Hershel and extended his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Greene." Hershel stared at his hand for a moment longer than he should have, before he accepted the handshake.

"Please, call me Hershel."

"Alright...Hershel."

Annette spoke up again, ushering everyone inside as she let them know that she had just made a fresh batch of sweet tea.

Sitting around the old dining table, sipping on their sweet tea, the questioning began.

"So Bethy, what brings ya back round these old parts?"

Beth looked up to her father's aging face and into his kind wise eyes. "I wanted ya'll to meet Zach and I have some things to take care of while we're down here."

Hershel nodded. "Yeah, I reckon you do."

Beth didn't know what else to say. She had missed her parents and hadn't seen them since she left. She hadn't even come back for Maggie's wedding a couple years ago. She thought coming home would be a celebration, instead she just felt like she wasn't quite welcome. The table once again fell into silence.

Annette cleared her throat, her eyes flicking between her husband and her daughter. "Well, we're so glad you're home honey." Home. Her warm voice soothed Beth and instantly put her at ease. "Let me show ya'll up to your rooms."

"Rooms?" Beth questioned. She knew her parents were religious but she figured at 25 she'd be allowed to share a room with her fiance. She didn't question it though, not wanting to push her luck. She just nodded and stood up, giving Zach a look to follow.

After being shown to her childhood room, Beth collapsed onto her back on the bed. She pulled out her phone, pulling up her sister's name and started a text.

Just got settled in to Mama and Daddy's. Please save me.

Maggie quickly returned her text.

We're goin' out. Meet me at Patton's at 8.

Beth smiled, feeling very excited to see her sister again. She was the only person who she had regular contact with in the last 3 years. She had even come up to New York to visit with her husband, Glenn. Her sister was understanding, not even getting mad that Beth didn't come back for the wedding. Maggie just knew Beth would come home when she was ready.

Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was only 3. Her eyelids were drooping, not getting much sleep for the last few days due her body being filled with anticipation. She figured a good fiancee would go and make sure Zach was getting settled in alright, especially after the tense first encounter with her father but her fatigue won. She closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

Beth woke up at 7 and quickly changed her grungy driving clothes into her normal attire. Skinny jeans, lace up boots, a white tank top, and her favorite worn military style jacket. Her hair looked a mess so she quickly threw it up into a ponytail on top of her head, not even bothering to comb out the knots that had formed during her nap. After applying some mascara and chapstick, she made her way out of her room and into Zach's. He too seemed to have just woken up from a nap.

"Maggie wants us to meet her at the bar in town. That okay?"

Zach nodded, still groggy. "Sounds good. Be nice to see a familiar face." He had met Maggie when she came to visit, which was right after Zach and Beth started seeing each other.

He got up from his bed and pulled Beth into him for a hug. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and told him to get ready so they could leave as she made her way out of his room.

They pulled up to the bar a few minutes before 8, parked and made their way inside. Zach went to go order drinks and Beth was making her way through the people, a mix of young fresh faces out to party and the local alcoholics whose years had not been kind to their bodies. Someone bumped into her as she was passing by the pool tables and would've fallen over if not for a hand reaching out to steady her.

"Sorry sugar, didn't see ya there." Beth froze, recognizing the voice instantly, as she looked up to see one Merle Dixon staring back at her. His wide grin quickly disappeared. Beth was scared for a second that Merle was about to hit her, judging by the sneer that had just formed on his hard face, but she knew Merle would never actually lay a hand on her. Still, she didn't want to be seeing him right now, pissed off or not, so she turned ready to run in the other direction when she bumped into a very hard chest.

Again she was steadied, giant hands wrapping around her biceps. She looked up to the tall stranger and into some very blue eyes, ones that she would know anywhere.

"Aw, fuck." His southern twang made her heart skip a beat. Standing in front of her was Daryl Dixon. Her husband.

Please review and let me know if I should continue. Once again, any tips are greatly appreciated!