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Daryl looked at her then, those big eyes of hers wide and her mouth hanging open. He sure did like the way he got under her skin. What on earth was she doing all the way out here though? He watched as she hopped out of the truck and walked towards him. She looked all proper and clean in her dress, and he thought about grinning. She was looking more like a woman, and less like the girl he had seen around town with her sister.

"You of'en go for late night rides looking like that? Might send some fellas the wrong message."

He could tell she didn't like that comment. Especially after he felt the sting of her hand on his face. He grinned. She was fierier than she looked.

"Shut up, Daryl! Can't you just tell me which way to go?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, then proceeded to light his cigarette. He took the first drag and blew the smoke past his lips, making sure he blew over his shoulder. Good girls didn't like to smell like cheap vices.

He nodded to the truck. "That yours?"

She hesitated, looking a little less wild than before. "It is tonight."

"What, you steal it or somethin'? You shouldn't steal, Miss Greene, it don't suit you."

"If you have to know, it belongs to my ex-boyfriend. He's currently down that road," she pointed to the direction she came from, "drinking and partying. I wanted to go home, so I…borrowed…it."

"Ain't you just full of surprises."

"You don't know me, Mr. Dixon."

He looked at her for a long moment. Something glinted in her eyes that he recognized, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He found his eyes leaving hers and traveling across her body. He'd never really paid much attention to Beth Greene, figuring she was just another well-off prissy girl. Taking another drag of his cigarette he paid attention to her hair, and how it fell down past her shoulders. It was almost like gold and he liked the way its gentle curls framed her face.

He shook his head, didn't need to be thinking those kinds of thoughts.

"I do know that you ain't gonna be going anywhere in that truck tonight."

Beth's brow furrowed and she crossed her arms.

"See?" Daryl pointed to the flat back tire. "That's just about ready to come of the wheel it's so flat. Get on the highway like that and you'll be stuck there."

She turned around, the wind from her movement rippling the bottom of her dress and briefly showing more of her legs. Daryl made a point to look up at the back of her head. He watched quietly as she pulled out her cell phone, presumably trying to think of who to call.

"You could call Dale." He offered.

She looked hesitant, probably because she was too gentle of a thing to want to wake up the old man. She tapped her heel for a moment and then rubbed her bottom lip with the side of her finger. He only noticed because… He didn't know why he noticed.

"Or you could jus' ride with me," he shrugged. "Going back that way anyhow."

Why the hell did he just say that? Turning around quickly, he went to toss his used up cigarette into the giant ash tray outside the convenience store. No need to add littering to the long list of things that are wrong with Daryl Dixon. That, and it gave him a few seconds away from the girl. Why did she keep popping up today, anyways? He'd grown up here, left with Merle when he was 16, and had only wandered back here a few years ago. The Greene's were popular in town, so he sure enough saw them around, but they never spent time with the Dixons. Who could blame 'em? Today was probably just a fluke, probably wouldn't see much of the girl.

"I…I…" Beth ran her fingers through her hair and looked in the back of the truck. "I don't think he has a spare. I'd call Dale or Martinez but… Could you do me a favor?"

He just looked back at her. Ain't it enough of a favor to drive you back?

"Could you not tell anyone about this?"

His eyes narrowed. "Not tell 'em that your boy's a dumbass or not tell 'em that you were 'ssociating with a Dixon man?"

Beth looked down at her feet, the fiery girl she was a few minutes ago all watered down.

"Don't matter. Just get in."

He pulled open the door of his own truck and started it up. She came around and Daryl thought she looked like a bunny about to walk past a real hungry dog. He knew he and Merle didn't have a great reputation, and didn't deserve one either, but was he really that scary to this girl? It just reminded him how much Merle tended to make things worse for him. Daryl didn't do a lot of the things Merle did, even if he witnessed most of them. Merle looked out for him when they were growing up, better than anyone else did, so Daryl thought he should try to keep his brother from doing any really messed up stuff. Even if Merle was in jail right now, it was just cause of drugs and not something worse like it could have been.

He glanced over at Beth, she hadn't said a word and was looking out the window. What'd she see that was so interesting?

"You still livin' with your folks?" he asked.

Beth's hand went up to her face, and she cleared her throat delicately. The voice that came out of her lips was shaky and quiet, but he heard her confirmation.

Wait, was she crying? He pressed the gas pedal down a little farther, wanting this ride to be over with. It wasn't long before he was finally turning into the long driveway to her daddy's farm. He pulled up as close as he dared to the house, not really wanting to draw attention to himself or the fact that he had just driven Beth Greene home late at night. He expected her to hop out as soon as the truck stopped moving, but she just sat there instead. Her eyes were open and unblinking, so he knew she wasn't asleep. The truck started feeling warm, and he fidgeted in his seat.

"You need somethin', Greene?"

She sighed and let her head fall back to the headrest. "No… I just feel real stupid. I thought we could still be happy. I should've known he didn't quit drinking. Dunno why I thought he was still the Jimmy I knew."

Oh great, she was talking to him about that dumbass. He could have told her a lot about Jimmy. He wasn't so great before he went off to college neither. Daryl had seen him doing some stuff that no pretty girl like Beth would be proud of. He didn't know what she saw in that kid. He also had no idea what to do in this situation. Daryl didn't often offer girls rides, didn't often even talk to girls, or anyone for that matter.

He was trying to think of something to say when Beth turned to look at him. "But I don't think I should be the one feeling guilty and stupid. He was the one that messed up, and I tried to make it work." She shook her head. "I'm not gonna cry anymore."

Daryl just mumbled a reply, not really sure what she was expecting from him. Why is it is so damn hot all of a sudden?

"Thanks for the ride, Daryl." She gave him a small smile, and whispered, "I won't tell anyone you gave me a ride, don't wanna ruin your reputation."

Was that a joke?

As soon as she closed the door, he nodded and took off down the driveway, thankful to be alone in his truck again. What the hell had just happened?

Maggie stood on the porch, watching as Beth got out of a truck she didn't recognize. She stood there for a moment and watched the truck rumble down the drive before turning and walking towards the house. Maggie could tell by the way she walked and held herself that she was upset, and she wondered what had happened since Beth had hung up earlier.

"You okay, sis?"

Beth looked up, her eyes were red like she had been crying, but they were dry now.

"Yeah. Well, no. I mean, I will be. It's just…I trusted Jimmy and it didn't work out. You should have seen him tonight, he wasn't the guy I used to love."

Maggie nodded, a little happy on the inside that her sister was on the way to getting over Jimmy. Ever since he had cheated on Bethy, Maggie had written him off. "Who dropped you off?"

"Uhh… You really wanna know?"

Maggie looked at her sister questioningly. "Now more than before!"

Beth sighed and looked back down the driveway, she couldn't see the tail lights anymore. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She gave Maggie a hug and thanked her for waiting up, then went inside and shut the door.

Maggie stood outside a little longer, wondering just who had taken Beth home that she would want to keep a secret.

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