None of them had a clue what she had been through. She didn't have the cookie cutter beauty that the other girls performing that night had, but she had one thing she was confident in, and that was musical talent. For so many years she had kept it hidden from others, but now in her late twenties she was finally brave enough to share her secret with others…if they could get past her appearance and just give her a chance.

Daryl and Merle had arrived at the local bar an hour earlier. Merle was his usual outspoken rowdy self while Daryl quietly sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. He had been chain smoking out of nervousness for the past half hour and sat through a few of the Barbie doll performers whom all sounded alike to him. He knew girls like that, pretty packages on the outside but an empty box once you took off the wrapping. He wouldn't even be here tonight if Merle hadn't dragged him out of the house.

He spotted Merle across the bar chatting up some bubble headed blonde with her double D breast barely within the confines of her shirt. Merle was so fucking predictable. No wonder he seemed to get the clap every few months…he thought with his dick and not with his heart. Of course, Daryl wasn't known for being a Casanova. He had the occasional hook up that he would give into usually after a night of heavy drinking. He hated that his primal desires would take him over after he had consumed enough alcohol to put most men under the table. The worst part was the awkward departure the next morning. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason women were attracted to him but unfortunately those women weren't much better than the women Merle would always chase.

Daryl was taken from his thoughts as he heard the music begin again on stage. The powerful voice he heard caught his attention and he turned to watch the performer. The emotion and power that came from her voice was projected unto the audience and Daryl felt he could feel every word she was singing. That led him to study the woman that was singing, conveying all of her passion and angst through the music. She was playing the piano along with singing and he wasn't sure if he had ever heard anything quite so mesmerizing.

He surmised that the songstress was probably in her late twenties, a bit younger than he was. She wasn't one of the skinny ditzes that had been performing for the most of the evening by any means. This woman was definitely different, and Daryl liked that about her. She was a heavyset girl with chestnut brown hair that fell past her shoulders and some of the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen. There was a passion in those eyes that captured Daryl the first moment he saw them, but there was something else that he noticed too…sadness. He also realized her vocal range was off the chart and with her playing her own accompaniment he now couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Merle sauntered over to the bar and Daryl couldn't help but ask him "Do you know who this girl singing is?"

"Hmph…that cow?" Merle said laughing.

"Merle, she's really good and I don't think she's all that bad." Daryl said. Sometimes he hated his brother.

"Her name is Davia Longstreet. She's a shy little girl who happens to sing and play pretty good. I better not see you sniffing around her Darylina. Dixon's don't need to be seen with someone like that. You can do much better." Merle said.

Daryl was pissed at how quickly Merle judged the woman. "Merle, fuck off. I was just asking is all." He said trying to get his brother to now drop the subject.

"Better be just asking. Now I'm off to go back to April…Merle will be getting lucky tonight with that fine blonde goddess over there." He told Daryl. Daryl just rolled his eyes in disgust. It probably meant another night of shoving a pillow over his head trying to sleep while Merle was panting and grunting away in the next room. He really wasn't sure what women saw in his older brother, but when Merle wanted to be charming, he was better than most.

Daryl listened intently to the rest of the set and when Davia finished singing Daryl found himself clapping and cheering enthusiastically. Maybe the four beers he drank gave him courage, but when Davia exited the stage Daryl made his way over to the small table where she was sitting alone.

"Um, do you mind if I sit down with you?" Daryl asked. This was probably the boldest move he had ever made before, but there was something so different about this girl that he couldn't stop himself from wanting to get to know her.

In a very quiet voice she said "yes" looking up at him through her long eyelashes. Daryl thought she was beautiful…more so than any other woman in the place. She wasn't his usual type, but there was something about her that drew him in.

"Look, I don't normally do things like this, but you were incredible up there. My name is Daryl." He told her.

When Davia wasn't singing she was painfully shy. She really only had a few friends and her family was gone. Living a lonely existence was her normal lifestyle. Now suddenly there was a very handsome country boy sitting at her table telling her how great she sang. To be honest Davia didn't know how to respond.

"Thank you. I'm Davia." She managed to get out.

Merle spotted his brother across the bar and flew hot when he saw that Daryl was sitting with plump singer having a conversation. He had warned his idiot of a brother that Dixon's don't need to be seen with girls like that. Sure, she had more talent than most of the performers he had seen, but she wasn't what Merle would consider "Dixon Quality." Merle marched his way over to where Daryl was sitting with Davia.

"Daryl, a word?" Merle commanded.

Daryl knew what was going to be next, and it infuriated him. "Look, Don't start. I fucking like her and I want to get to know her, so take your ass away from us right now. Got it?"

"I won't allow it baby brother. You don't need to be sniffing around a bump on the log like that. Look at her…you wouldn't be able to afford feeding her."

"Damnit Merle, she ain't even that big. At least she ain't some coked up whore. Leave me and her the fuck alone or I'm gonna beat your ass, and you know I can do it." Daryl threatened.

"It's your prison sentence boy. Just don't ask me to go along with it. And if you bring her back to the house, I don't want to hear the sounds of a whale mating." Merle told him.

Daryl snapped at Merle's final comment. First of all, He didn't see Davia as the type girl you have a one night stand with, and secondly, she wasn't by any means a huge girl. She had curves and little extra meat on her bones, but Daryl thought it looked good. The girls Merle usually hooked up with were almost skeletal and most of them were so strung out on coke they probably only ate once a week.

"Merle, fuck off and leave me and her alone. I ain't asking you again." Daryl told him.

"Whatever" was Merle's response as he stomped off back towards the skank he had been hanging with all evening.

Daryl walked over to Davia and sat back down. "Sorry, my brother is an asshole."

"Merle Dixon is your brother? I don't think he likes me very much…I've heard some of his snarky comments. He probably isn't thrilled you are talking to me, I'm not the type of person he associates with." Davia replied.

"Well Merle ain't known for being the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Would you like to get out of here and maybe grab something to eat?" Daryl asked, surprised at his own boldness.

"That would be nice." She said. She still couldn't believe that this man was actually taking the time to speak to her. However, she figured he just felt sorry for her or he was desperate. She knew she wasn't the greatest at holding a conversation and Daryl was most likely used to women who were both more attractive than her and also a lot more social.

Daryl stood up and allowed Davia to get up as well. She got her purse and he guided her out to his truck. She nervously got in. "Don't worry Davia, I ain't gonna force myself on you. Me and Merle are very different from each other." He assured her when he sensed her apprehension.

He drove them to a late night diner and the two of then entered and sat in an empty booth in the corner. Daryl felt it very easy to talk to Davia and she found Daryl easy to talk with as well. She detected that he had come from a difficult home life, not unlike herself, and that his brother had more influence over him that he would admit.

"So how did you become a singer?" Daryl asked.

"Out of necessity I guess. My dad walked out on my mom before I was even born, and she died of a heroin overdose when I was four. Spent my life going from foster home to foster home. I didn't have anything consistent in my life except for music. I barely graduated high school, so college was out of the picture and singing has been the only way I can pay the bills. It's not much, but it's enough to feed me and put a roof over my head." She told him. It was probably the most she had spoken to anyone in years.

"Yeah, I spent some time in a foster home right after my momma died. It wasn't a good experience, I just hope yours was better than mine." He told her.

She just nodded, not volunteering anything else about her past. They continued to talk on until Daryl realized it was nearly four in the morning. "I reckon I need to take you back so you can get your car and get home and get some rest."

"I can walk Daryl. I don't own a car…I can't afford it and I don't really know how to drive. I either walk or take the bus if I need to get around." She informed him.

"I ain't gonna let you walk. I will take you home myself and make sure you get home safely." He assured her.

"You don't have to Daryl…it wouldn't be the first time I walked home late by myself." She told him.

"It's not safe and I want to make sure you are OK. Trust me Davia, I ain't out to hurt you." He replied.

Daryl paid the bill and then escorted Davia out to his truck. He followed her instructions and drove her to her small apartment. He wasn't sure as to whether or not he should drop her off or walk her to her door, but he chose the safer option and walked her to her door. If she had been one of his usual hook ups he would have made a move to get himself invited in and have a drunken romp, but Daryl wasn't drunk and Davia wasn't a hook up.

"Are you performing tonight?" He asked. It was a Saturday night and he knew the bar would be crowded, and her normally didn't like large crowds, but if she were singing then he wanted to hear her perform.

"I am. Do you have plans to come back to the bar tonight?" She asked.

"Do now. I can pick you up and bring you so you don't have to walk. What time do you go on stage?" He asked.

"Nine. But you don't need to feel obligated, I can walk." She said.

" You don't need to be walking after dark in this town. Something could happen to you. I will pick you up at seven and we can grab dinner before you go on. No arguments." He told her.

Davia couldn't believe how kind this man was. She was feeling flutters in her stomach that she had never felt before. Most of the time she was more than just a little suspicious when she received male attention. Some bad decisions in her past had left her in a couple of very bad circumstances, but those men had given her a bad vibe to begin with, but she was so desperate for companionship she was willing to ignore those feelings. Daryl was different. He had trustworthiness to him that she had never experienced. He hadn't volunteered much about himself, but he did put forth the effort to try to get to know her. No one had ever seemed to really care before. She had always heard the stories about how Merle was, rough, mean, and addicted to various drugs, but Daryl didn't seem to fit this profile. Daryl most likely had spent his life growing up in his brother's shadow, but still somehow was able to maintain a bit of his own self.

Daryl picked up Davia that evening. He was dressed in his cleanest pair of jeans, boots, and a black buttoned up shirt. They were the nicest clothes he had. Daryl had a job as an electrician, but he didn't make the best wage and supporting his brother and himself on his measly salary wasn't easy. Merle refused to work, and anytime he had an opportunity to get a job he would either fail the drug test or if he was lucky enough to get hired, he would lay out of work too much to continue to be employed.

Davia had on cowboy boots, boot cut jeans that hugged her curves, and a red scoop neck blouse. She wore some vintage jewelry to accent her outfit and her wavy chestnut hair worn down completed her look perfectly. Daryl had thought about her all day long and seeing her caused his breath to hitch. He didn't see why others didn't realize how beautiful she was. He wasn't going to complain though, that meant he didn't have to compete for Davia's attention and he liked that. Daryl wasn't much of a conversationalist, and Davia wasn't either, but somehow he found her easy to talk to.

He took her to dinner at a small steakhouse and they spoke comfortably with each other. Daryl finally got up enough nerve to ask her if she was involved with anyone romantically.

"Are you kidding? Look at me…men don't like girls like me. I am always the first to get 'friend zoned'" She informed him.

"Their loss" Daryl told her. Those two words made her smile. Could he actually be interested in her? She doubted it. He could have any woman he wanted and she guessed he just felt sorry for her like all the others did. The one time she thought she was in love it turned out that the guy was gay. "Oh no" she thought to herself… "could he be?" She looked at him a bit closer and observed his mannerisms. There wasn't anything about him that led her to believe he was interested in men, but with her luck…

"I haven't dated a woman seriously in many years myself. Women like you don't usually give me the time of day when they realize I ain't nothing but redneck trash." He admitted to her.

"Whew" she thought…he wasn't gay. OK, then why was he still here with her? Self-doubt was quickly over taking her and she finally blurted out "Daryl, why are you being so nice to me? I ain't nothing, and I definitely don't see you as redneck trash."

"That's where you are wrong Davia. I like you. Been thinking about ya all day. Anyone who doesn't see how special you are is a fool." He said, blushing as he spoke to her honestly.

"You really like me? That's interesting because I like you too Daryl, but I don't really know how to do any of this. There are things about my past that I think if you found out you wouldn't be here with me." She admitted.

"Past is the past…mine isn't a fairy tale either." He told her.

Davia shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she remembered all of her dark secrets that still haunted her. She looked down at her watch "Daryl, it's about time to head over to the bar."

He paid the check and then stood up and took her hand and led her to the truck. As she was about to get into the truck Daryl pulled her to him and placed a chaste kiss on her. He could feel her tense up at the contact. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean too make you feel uncomfortable." He said.

"No Daryl, that was nice. I wasn't expecting it was all. Like I said, I'm not used to anything like this." Tears began to slip from her eyes, as she was overwhelmed with emotions.

Daryl silently beat himself up. He was sure his boldness had scared the girl away from him. He cursed himself for being so forward, but he couldn't help himself, as he never felt this way about someone before.

"Davia, I would like to get to know you better. And if you give me a chance, we will take this as slow as you need. I don't know the first thing about having a real relationship with someone, but if you give me a chance, I want to learn." He admitted to her.

Without thinking Davia took a breath and stood up on her toes and pulled Daryl too her. She very carefully kissed him and was amazed when he reciprocated. She hadn't much experience with the opposite sex, but she decided to go with her instincts. Before they both knew it the kiss had progressed into a passionate exchange with both of their tongues intertwined. Daryl felt the blood rush to parts of his body that normally didn't perk up unless he was drunk and Davia felt a fire inside her that she had never experienced.

They both broke away from each other breathless. "Reckon I need to take you the bar so I can share you with others." He said smiling.

"Can we pick this up later?" She asked.

"You don't even need to ask." He replied back to her.

Just a quick one shot story. I might expand it later if people are interested. I can so see Daryl being attracted to someone who doesn't have conventional beauty. He has a tendency to see people for who they are and not what they look like.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks-

Missy