A/N Wow! You guys surprised me in a real nice way. Thanks so much for the faves, follows and reviews. Daryl's on his way and I think things are going to get interesting.

He headed north out of Georgia into Tennessee. It dawned on him as he crossed the state line; this was the first time he'd ever been out of Georgia. Wow.

Straight North and off West would have been the most direct route, but he was sticking with his plan to see some things along the way.

So he went through the western edge of Kentucky and cut across to Missouri. He spent a day meandering through Mark Twain National Forest on his bike, before continuing west toward Kansas.

He'd stop when he felt like it, take in the sights, eat a meal, sleep a few hours. He had plenty of time, and he liked that feeling of being able to just spend his time doing whatever appealed to him at the moment.

There was more than once he thought back to the days before Merle got popped, back before Dale and the shop, when he'd just follow Merle around doin' whatever Merle said they were gonna be doin'. Merle might have been a redneck asshole, but he was also the only person Daryl could ever count on, well until the law caught up with him. He kind of wished Merle was with him now, but he tried not to dwell on it.

Once he crossed the border out of Kansas and into Colorado he made his way to Colorado Springs. The front range of the Rocky Mountains. He planned to stay in Colorado Springs for a couple days, see Pike's Peak National forest, and then head up to the summit of the 14,000 ft mountain.

He could take the bike up, he could take the Cog Railway, or if he were more inclined, which he wasn't at all, he could hike it.

Daryl had never been on any kind of train, and he was gonna be riding that bike all over these western mountains, so he decided on the railway. He wasn't so shy around people like he once was, and it might be kinda nice to share the experience with others.

He met a nice group of friendly seniors on the train and ended up having more fun than he'd thought he would.

Thing was, he wished he'd a seen it on his bike. So when he got back off the train he got on his bike and went up to that summit again. He smiled to himself as he rode. He kind of liked this impulsive side he didn't even know he had.

He headed north from Colorado Springs through Denver and Fort Collins and crossed the border into Wyoming at Laramie.

He visited the old territorial prison in Laramie and took a picture of it with his phone. He texted it to Merle with a snarky comment, "I found ya a new house." Merle texted back, "Fuck you Little Brother." Daryl just grinned, he missed that banter with his brother.

From Laramie he continued west on I-80 and stopped for the night in Rock Springs, Wyoming. He planned to spend most of the next day seeing this Flaming Gorge area he heard so much about from one of his clients.

The further west he'd traveled the more bikes he saw and he was pretty sure most were doin' the same thing he was, touring around a little before heading to Sturgis for the rally.

He also noticed that a lot of folks were taking it a little bit easier, trailering their bikes behind fancy pick-ups or SUVs. He supposed there was no crime in that, but for him, one thing he'd most looked forward to was riding around the country on a motorcycle. Except for feeling kind of lonely, he was enjoying every minute of it.

Flaming Gorge was a beautiful sight, not unlike the Grand Canyon but with more water, he supposed. Well, maybe one day he'd go there and see how they compared. And the number of Antelope he saw was unbelievable, he hadn't known there were so many antelope in Wyoming.

He'd gotten an early start, hell the sun came up early and went down late in Wyoming in the summer. So after he had some lunch he had a decision to make, go on ahead up to Pinedale, a small town of about 2000 on his way to Yellowstone, or spend another night in Rock Springs. He figured what the hell? It's only about 90 miles away, just up Highway 191.

He checked in a little motel off the town's main drag and decided he'd earned a beer. He'd heard through the grapevine, and even saw in a couple of biker magazines, about a biker friendly joint right on the main drag.

Even though it was just four blocks away he'd decided to take the bike. There were four other bikes parked out front so he was sure he was in the right place. It had what looked like big tree trunks for bar stools, a pool table and…and oh shit, he saw her, he nearly froze in his tracks. A real pretty blond was working behind the bar. She had a million dollar smile, great big blue eyes, and some wild and beautiful curly blond hair. Her hair was in some kind of cockeyed ponytail and it seemed like quite a lot of it had a mind of it's own and just wouldn't stay where it was supposed to. She had a real fresh-faced kind of look about her, not a lot of make-up, kind of "outdoorsy."

She was wearing tight jeans rolled up to just below her knees, a western style belt, a tank top kind of shirt, and well worn cowboy boots.

He walked right up and sat down on one of those tree stools and she asked, sweet as could be, "Hey cowboy, what's your poison?"

He looked right in those beautiful eyes and asked, "What's on tap?"

"Well for you, I'd pick Bud, how does that sound?" That smile never let up.

She was thinking OMG where did this guy come from? So good looking! He had on a button-up black shirt, but he must have torn the sleeves off of it, and geez the arms on this guy, black jeans, and a black leather cut. Holy Mole!

"That sounds just right," he found himself smiling back. Damn, he was thinking, if she would have offered me a glass a milk I'da drank it.

She kept thinking she was staring at him and ought to quit, but she just couldn't help herself and darn, he seemed to be staring back at her.

"So call me a genius, I'm guessing by the bike you're on your way to Sturgis, right?" She just knew she sounded like an idiot, but she wanted to talk with him.

"Yep, you're right again. So now ya know what I'm drinkin', ya know where I'm goin', what else ya got figured out 'bout me?" He didn't know what the hell to say to this woman, but he knew he wanted to keep talking to her.

"Well now, everything you just said? That made it very clear, you're not from Wyoming, not with that accent," she had a teasing tone to her voice.

"Well dang, ya got me again, yeah I ain't from Wyomin', I'm from a ways south and east a Wyomin', a small town outside of Atlanta," He'd tell her any damn thing she wanted to know.

"Oh wow, you've come a long way, but why did you come up through Pinedale? It isn't exactly on the way from Atlanta to Sturgis," She was wondering if he had a girlfriend, and she wanted to slap herself.

"That's a fact, but I wanted ta see some other sights on my way. I'ma head ta Yellowstone from here," He took a small sip from the beer, he was gonna make it last.

"It seems that a lot of people like to go through The Park on their way to Sturgis, it is pretty spectacular. I haven't been in a few years, we used to go every year when we were kids," and then she looked a him and said, "Sorry, if I'm talking too much, maybe you want to be left alone to drink your beer in peace."

"S'okay, I's enjoyin' listenin' to ya," he didn't want her to quit.

She had to wait on a few other people but she soon came back over and stood in front of him and smiled, not really knowing what more she could say to him.

But he smiled back and asked her, "There a good place around here for a guy ta get a steak?"

"There's a terrific place about 15 miles outside of town, its way off the beaten path. It's an old fort, very cool, they cook the steaks outside over a wood fire and it's real Wyoming beef, range fed, no hormones, no antibiotics," she made a little nod of her head like she was emphasizing all of that.

"Sounds like yer workin' for 'em," He smiled, just teasing her a little. He almost wanted to take it back.

But she laughed and said, "My Dad, my brother, and my uncles, are all cattle ranchers."

"S'at right, well how would a hungry guy find this place? Or better yet, when do ya get off work? Maybe you could show me the way and I'd be happy ta buy ya dinner." He couldn't even fucking believe he'd just invited this woman to dinner. He'd never done anything like that in his life. But there was something about her, he just knew he had to spend time with her. And he remembered Dale telling him life was short.

She thought about it for all of five seconds before she said, "Well for starters, I'd probably want to know your name, I'm Beth Greene by the way, and then I'd tell you I'm off work in half hour and I'm hungry as a bear."

He couldn't help it, he laughed, "Well Beth Greene, it's very nice ta meet ya, name's Daryl Dixon and I'm lookin' forward ta takin' ya wherever ya wanna go have dinner. Wouldn't be right for me ta let ya go hungry"

"Let me just finish up here and we can head," He liked that western accent of hers. Well, he liked it on her.

He just took small sips of the beer and waited until she announced she was off work.

When he stood he was much taller than she'd thought, and he walked with a kind of pigeon-toed swagger. And that cut? Who knew it would have angel wings on the back?! Oh my, my, he was a hot one, and the best part was, he didn't even seem to realize it.

He had one helmet and he offered it to her. "We're in Wyoming Daryl Dixon, we don't need to wear helmets. I'll just take my chances so you be careful," and when she smiled at him that way he knew he would never risk harming a hair on her head.

And he supposed he was an idiot because he asked, "Have you been on a motorcycle before?"

She had a funny look on her face and he thought maybe she might be mad, but then she said, "Daryl, I'm a Wyoming ranch girl, I've ridden a sheep, a pig, a cow, a mule, a horse, a 4-wheeler, a snow machine, and a wave runner, I can drive a boat, snowcat, a tractor, or just about any old ranch rig you can come up with. But for some reason I have never been on a motorcycle and I can't wait!"

"Yer crazy girl, but damn, I sure woulda like ta see ya ride that pig. Let's go, ya just gotta point me there," he got on the bike, and she got on behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and there wasn't anything about that he didn't like.

She wasn't kidding about the road, it was barely cut in, dry and dusty, there were some lodgepole pine and some aspen trees, along with a lot of sage and some kind of berry vines, rocks were poking out of the ground, and damn, it was beautiful in a weird kind of western way – like it couldn't decide if it was the mountains or the desert.

He had to smile when he saw this "fort." It was an old log structure that had obviously been renovated. He also saw the creek, the trees, the wild rose bushes, and the big ol' barbeque going with the wood smoke billowing out and he thought, this is living.

She got off the bike and said, "Wow my legs feel like I've been riding my horse Nellie," and she giggled.

"Well it's an iron horse," he smiled. "Ya think you could get use ta ridin' around on it?" What was he asking her? He didn't even know.

But she answered him, "Easy."

And they both smiled.

They made their way inside, and of course she knew the lady there, "Hi Kathy, can you seat two?"

"I sure can Beth, follow me," and she led them to a small table by the window overlooking that creek.

"This is real nice Beth, I thank ya for bringin' me out here. Now ya gotta help me pick out what I'ma eat," he was staring at the list of steaks like it was written in Greek.

And when she looked at him, she knew there was no way she didn't want to be sitting here with this man right now.

"Well if you're going to eat like a cowboy, you're going to have to have a rib eye steak, rare," and she smiled, but damn, those eyes of hers were practically boring into him.

"Sounds fine ta me. Now Beth Greene, what's yer story? I'd like ta know a little about you," he couldn't believe himself, he'd learned to talk to people for his business but it still never felt quite comfortable, and he was usually so awkward around women, but with her it just seemed to come natural.

"Not too much to tell really. I grew up on a ranch just outside of town here, worked hard and had loads of fun. After high school I stayed on the ranch with my folks, but I also worked in the office of an insurance agent in town. Then the energy boom hit big. I got a great job working out in the oil field, not on a rig, but in the onsite office, you know, secretarial stuff, and with the energy boom the pay was great. Everyone was making lots of money. I moved off the ranch and rented a little place in town, I felt like I finally grew up, and then came the bust, it seemed like overnight, the boom moved to North Dakota and I was out of a job. I've got three days left on the rent at my place, and then I really have no choice, I'll have to move back to Mom and Dad's ranch. I haven't had a bit of luck getting any kind of job in town, I'm just filling in at the bar for a friend once in a while. I need to get my life figured out I guess. I never really worried too much before, but geez, I'm 23 years old, it might be time to start thinking," and then she laughed and said, "Oh I'm so sorry Daryl, there I go again, on and on and on."

And he felt like he could listen to her go 'on and on and on' forever, "Well that's rough, I heard the energy business is pretty much a boom and bust deal."

The waitress came for their order, he just nodded toward Beth and said, "She's gonna do the orderin'."

She laughed and said, "Fine. Daryl's going to have the cowboy cut rib eye rare, I'll have the cowgirl cut also rare. We'll each have a house salad for starters, and we'll share the big stuffed baked potato with our steaks, bring plenty of bread and butter please. And I suppose we could each drink a glass of cab." She smiled at him when she added that.

"So, I took care of the hard part Daryl Dixon, all you have to do is pay, oh and just so you know, the cowboy steak is twice as big as the cowgirl steak and I'm going to get a big kick out of watching you eat it all." And she started laughing, but then her cheeks turned bright pink and she quickly said, "I'm sorry, sometimes I can be such a smartass, or just an ass."

What could he do? He just smiled and said, "You really are a little crazy, aren't ya?"

"Maybe a little, but don't hold it against me, okay? So tell me Mr. Dixon, what's your story? Tell me a little something about your life," she looked right in his eyes.

He wasn't sure what it was. Yeah, she was pretty, prettiest girl he'd ever seen, but it was more than that, she just made him feel happy. And so he did tell her. He didn't tell her about his nasty early life, he didn't tell her about having to live at the shop to stay clear of his abusive father. He just told her about growing up in the business and eventually buying it, about his love of carpentry, about his place in the woods, and how long it had been a dream of his to take this trip. He told her where he'd been and where he planned to go on the remainder of his trip to Sturgis, and back home.

The food came, and then she said, "Gosh, that sounds like a dream trip Daryl, I love Yellowstone, and I've seen Devil's Tower, but I was a little kid. I sure would love to see all the places you're going to see, Deadwood, Sturgis, Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore, and gosh The Badlands. It all seems so fun. I'm jealous."

She put a big piece of steak in her mouth, the woman was no dainty eater, "So jealous."

And he had no fucking idea what came over him, or what he was thinking, but plain as day he asked her, "Why don't ya come with me?"

And she felt a little shocked, but she also felt excited, and it took her all of 10 seconds staring in his eyes to say, "Okay, when do we leave?"

A/N Wow, they moved fast, next chapter let's see exactly how they plan to work this out. Check my tumblr - same name as here - for photos of the scenery on their journey. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. xo