Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder
I was caught
In the middle of a railroad track
I looked round
And I knew there was no turning back
My mind raced
And I thought what could I do
And I knew
There was no help, no help from you
Sound of the drums
Beating in my heart
The thunder of guns
Tore me apart
You've been
Thunderstruck

– Thunderstruck by AC/DC

Daryl picked up and put down his phone about 12 times before finally placing it in the bedroom on the charger and leaving it there. It was driving him crazy. Girl hadn't been back in his life more than 24 hours and already he was half crazy wanting to talk to her all the time.

He hadn't worked up the nerve to call her yet but thought he might later if she ever signed back on. He knew she was busy. She had told him she had a 3:00 p.m. yoga class she didn't want to miss and then she was going to run by the store. It was close to 5:00 p.m. And he was mentally berating himself for wondering what was taking her so long and for whatever reason, it was always Merle's big mouth in his head speaking the things that Daryl feared the most. "She ain't got time for your ass, boy. Probably just looking to scratch an itch she's had for the last 20 years. Then she'll be gone again. Into the wind, just like last time. Best move on." There it was.

His worst fear. That she'd disappear on him again. He'd driven her from his mind once but it had taken hell and earth to get there. He went running one night shortly after he'd been done with boot camp, feeling like he was chasing after something and running from a demon all at the same time. He'd lost her. He'd lost her. He'd lost her. His feet pounded into the pavement on the base he was stationed at the time and he was winded but drove himself on. Like he was running all night to catch his breath, he pounded her memories out of the soles of his feet and blasted AC/DC on his CD player. Did it every night like he was exorcising a demon.

Beth was more like an angel that had worked her way under his skin like no one else ever had. But losing her felt like the devil had been right on his back telling him everything he'd ever thought about himself was true. That he was a good for nothing, nobody redneck that didn't deserve love. He ran every night for a solid year before it was finally something he did to work off the stress of the day instead of trying to get Beth Greene out of his mind.

Fat lot of good it did him. Here he was back in the same place feeling like he was mentally chasing her down again. Damn it Dixon, get a fuckin' grip. She's at yoga. Damn if that didn't do something to his brain too: thinking about her in tight yoga pants. Doing all those poses he'd only seen on TV. Fuck, he needed to stop that line of thinking right there. It wasn't leading to anywhere good if he didn't.

He turned on the water to his shower and began to undress, thinking about his and Beth's conversation the night before and this morning. They'd talked until nearly 2:00 a.m. when they'd both finally conceded that they needed sleep.

He'd been shocked with the first voice clip she sent him. He wasn't stupid. She was enticing him on purpose into talking over the phone. And damn if it wasn't going to work. That sweet Southern drawl hadn't changed one bit and hearing her voice, he could suddenly remember exactly what her lips had tasted like: like a drip of honey warmed from the sun streaming in the kitchen window.

That was another thing. No one but Beth had ever made him think poetic shit up like that. He shook his head recalling everything she had told him about her life. It was a damn shame about her divorce but he literally couldn't understand for the life of him why someone would cheat on a girl like Beth Greene. He didn't know her now, but from what he was getting to know, he could tell she was the same good fucking hearted girl she was back when they met.

He knew if he ever got a chance with her again, he'd never let her go. Now where the hell did that thought come from? They hadn't even really discussed meeting yet. They both wanted to, but here he was getting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

He swore every time he thought about seeing her again, his heart started flipping around like a fish out of water, beating against his rib cage, trying to swim for freedom. He wondered if he could kiss her, get a taste of that fresh squeezed sunshine straight off of her lips.

With that thought, his dick had an opinion about that too, feeling it twitch against his leg as he finished his shower and dried off. Goddammit Dixon, get your fuckin' act together, he thought to himself.

Thunderstruck. That's what he was. That was the damn song he'd played infinitely while he pounded out the pavement trying to run from her memory.

She'd come into his life like a storm and he was left standing with the thunder still pounding in his ears. Lightning flashes of memories of her pulsating in his mind. And here he was again. Thunderstruck all over again.

He changed into sweat pants and a t-shirt and padded barefoot into his bedroom and wanted to ignore his phone, but found himself walking towards it anyways. There were five messages from her when he opened his blinking messenger app. There went his heart again, flopping around like a dumb fish.

"I'm back." The first one said. Followed by "Yoga was great. Just showered. What are you doing?" Then a couple of minutes later. "I'm trying to decide if I even want to bother with dinner. There's no one here but me. Bowl of cereal or bowl of soup? You choose. Lol" Then "Campbell's Chicken noodle is what I want but the kids ate it all. I wish I'd known that when I was at the store. #momlife" Finally, "Where are you? I have been waiting to talk to you ever since I left." He felt the corners of his lips turn up at reading it.

Girl disappeared for two hours and he doesn't answer for five minutes and she was ready to send out a search party. That was Beth Greene. Still bossy as all hell. Still smiling, he typed out his reply. "Hold your horses, girl. I been right here. You're the one that left." He pressed send before he realized the implications of what she might read into it. All the sudden, he was flashing back to when he'd gotten her letter under his hotel room door and his heart had fallen to his feet. He'd run out into the parking lot and across the street, bare feet and out of breath as he searched for her family's car. It was gone. All that time they'd had together. He'd found the love of his life. And now she was just gone.

He hurriedly typed back another message. "How was yoga? You do all them weird poses and shit. Down dog something? Lol"

"hahaha Yoga was awesome as usual. It's downward facing dog, Daryl. I think I need to teach you some yoga moves." Her reply blinked back at him and his mind saw it as an invitation for all sorts of bad thoughts. He could think of her teaching him yoga ending one of two ways, him getting injured from twisting his old body into positions it was not equipped for anymore or with him jumping Beth Greene's bones. There was no in between in his opinion.

He had a hell of a lot of self restraint but he didn't think God himself expected him to resist Beth Greene in a tight pair of yoga pants.

"I'd probably sprain my groin. And my ego. Lol" He replied lightly.

"Daryl I'm sorry for what happened between us. It's my biggest regret. I never forgot you." He didn't know what to say back to that. Suddenly he had a need to hear her voice. He clicked the telephone button in the top corner and pressed the phone to his ear waiting for her to answer.

"Hi!" Her voice was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard, he swore to God and he could no longer remember why he was hesitant to call her the night before.

"Hey, girl. Thought I'd call ya like ya wanted me to." He said lightly. Who was he kidding really? Beth could ask for anything in the world and he'd give it to her if he could. A phone call wasn't nothing.

"I'm so glad you did. Was dyin' to hear your voice. And now that I have, you may never get me off the phone." Her melodic laugh rang across the line and landed square in his chest. "I meant what I said though. I'm sorry for what happened. It was a lifetime ago, I know, but I have so many regrets about us. The odds were so stacked against us back then. We were younger." Her voice hesitated. She wasn't going to bring up their age difference. She knew how much it bothered him then; strange, how now it didn't even matter. "Now it could be different". She let her voice trail off and his heart did that fishy flip-flop thing again and he felt like he was going to throw up. What was she saying?

"Beth, you don't gotta apologize." That's not what he wanted to say. He wanted her to explain what her 'now' meant but he was too chickenshit to cop to that.

"But I do. If we're gonna move forward with this. You were serious about wanting to meet again, right?" Her breathless voice landed on his ears again and he thought he could jump through the phone, he wanted to reach out and touch her so bad. It was an overpowering urge like nothing else he'd ever felt; except maybe 19 years ago when it all started. He felt 30 years old again when he'd first run his fingers through those blonde waterfall curls. And he wanted to do it all over again. He realized he hadn't spoken and she was still waiting on his answer.

""F course I was serious, Beth. I can't wait to see you again. Been waiting ever since you walked into your hotel that last night." He heard her breath catch on the other end and it did something to his insides and all the sudden he was so glad he called her, so glad he reached out and messaged her. And at the same time, he wanted to rewind time and remember how it felt to hold her in his arms. It was like it was yesterday and a lifetime ago all at the same time.

"Me too, Daryl. I don't know how soon you can manage it. My schedule is crazy the next couple of months with work and the kids' activities for summer camp and what not. I know when I see you, a couple of days isn't going to be enough time." She finished.

He snorted. "You ain't kiddin'. A few days wasn't enough the last time." He didn't finish what he was thinking; that a lifetime wouldn't be enough to be able to walk beside Beth Greene and just live life together. He nearly choked on his heart as it catapulted into his throat on that last thought. A lifetime with Beth Greene? He couldn't be that lucky. He counted it as double luck right now. He was lucky to have met her 19 years ago, but if he got to see her again; that had to be something pretty damn close to fate, didn't it?

Then again, he was a Dixon and good things normally didn't come to them that often. He'd lost her once. He didn't know if he could do it again, but here she was suggesting they meet face to face.

"I'm gonna be honest right now and tell you I'm scared shitless to see you again." He decided to be honest with her, because as Rick had said he didn't have anything left to lose.

"Your dignity, you dumbshit." He chose to ignore Merle's nagging voice in the back of his mind.

"Why?" Her voice was a mixture of sadness and wonder and he wanted to soak in every word she spoke, he just couldn't get enough of it. "I mean, I'm nervous too, I gotta admit. I have...I have butterflies." She laughed a little and that coaxed a smile from him despite himself. Leave it to Beth Greene to make him feel better about things. She had that way about her.

"Yeah, that's what I'm feeling. Butterflies." He didn't care if he sounded like a pussy admitting all this to her. Here she was back in his life and for whatever reason, he felt more himself than he'd felt in a long time. Like he'd found his best friend again.

"Good, then we're on the same page. So we both have butterflies and want to meet up again. How about we get to know one another all over again? Find out who we are. What makes us tick?" she suggested with her sweet as honey voice and it sure sounded good to him.

"Sound good to me Beth." He heard a little groan on the other end. "You okay?" He asked. Maybe she'd stubbed her toe or something.

"I'm fine. Just love hearing you say my name is all." She giggled a little and he felt himself flush to his eyebrows. So if that little groan hadn't been pain then... He didn't get to finish the thought before she changed the subject.

"What's your favorite color?" She asked.

"Blue." He anwered automatically. It hadn't always been, but after he'd met her, blue became his favorite. It reminded him of the cut off jean shorts she'd worn at the beach and most of all of her luminescent eyes blinking back at him as he'd kissed her goodnight. "What's yours?"

"Same." She laughed.

"Is it really or are you copying me?" He laughed back.

Her giggles coming across the line did a number on his heart that was for sure. "Yes, really! I'm not copying you. Daryl Dixon, are you flirting with me?" She asked and well hell, he guessed he was.

"Yeah. You like it?" He asked, trying to be nonchalant but knew his voice barely squeaked out that last word.

The breathy sigh on the other end was all the answer he needed but she answered him anyway. "I do. I like it very much."

Seven fucking hells, it was gonna be a long two months wait to see her. A long damn time indeed.

AN: This chapter was totally Daryl centric because I needed to get back in his head space again and wanted you guys to see things from his perspective on what happened when they parted ways all those years ago. It is going to be WAY more chapters than I thought.

I am sorry this update took too long. Work has been heinous lately and I finally got my batteries charged the last couple days after working 75 hours in 6 days. Hope you liked it and I hope to get another chapter out by the end of the weekend so long as this storm doesn't knock out our power. Fingers crossed! Lol Until next time, xoxoxo