A/N Well I was really happy that no one seemed to hate that last update! This one is just a little gift to all of you before I get on a plane to Georgia! I couldn't leave everyone wondering. This doesn't answer all your questions (where's the fun in that?) but it might help! Thank you for reading, and reviewing! I appreciate it!

Beth can't remember the last time Monday was actually something she looked forward to. And it's definitely living up to its expectations. The waiting room hasn't been completely empty all day. She's seen an older, grumpy chihuahua with cataracts, a kitten coming in for its first round of shots, and a molting parakeet. The 3 lab puppies in need of nail trimming we're by far her favorite patients of the day. Rather than let her assistant take care of the puppies, she plops herself down on the exam room floor and does it herself. She's relishing in the enthusiastic puppy kisses and wagging tails. But even in the midst of all the chaos, her thoughts keep drifting to Daryl. She's too busy though to feel anything more than a hollow ache that nestled deep down in her chest.

When Eric comes in and lets her know she's done with all her appointments for the day she's pleasantly surprised.

"Perfect! I'll lock up Eric, go home and relax. We have to do it all again tomorrow."

"Sure thing Beth, have a nice night." Waving he heads out the door. Beth shuts down her computer and flips off the lights, locking the door behind her she heads to her car.

After a quick stop at the Kroger for a few things she needs, she's finally on her way home. As she's pulling into her apartment, she notices the patrol car parked by the corner. And she knows why it's there. The satisfaction of making it through Monday dissipates. Seeing the patrol car doesn't make her feel any better. Neither does knowing he's 'taking care of it' as he'd so eloquently put it. She doesn't want to be 'it', a problem to take care of, she wants to be his girl and she wants to be where she knows she'll feel safe. With him. It's easy just to put away her groceries, take a quick shower and crawl into bed. Sleep is slow to come though, and that hollow ache finds its way out and soaks her pillow.

Tuesday comes and Beth hopes it's as easy as Monday, but with a better ending. When she arrives at the office it's Maggie's behind the counter instead of Eric. And the expression on her sister's face is far from happy. This could mean any number of things but Beth isn't going to get her hopes up.

"Hey, Maggie. What are you doing here? Aren't you on the schedule tomorrow?" Beth asks leaning against the counter. She's trying to act nonchalant, flipping through the mail that's lying there, but she can sense something is up.

"I am, but Merle stopped by Glenn's this morning. Beth, why didn't you tell me about the threats?" Maggie's voice is shaking a little and it's creeping up towards high pitched like it does when she's upset.

"I didn't want to worry you for no reason. It's nothing, Maggie. It'll blow over." Beth tries to smile, but it's forced and she knows she's not fooling Maggie.

"Blow over? Beth, those guys vandalized Glenn's family restaurant! They jumped Merle and broke his nose. And that threat, that's not nothing Beth!"

"Merle's going to-" Beth begins. But Maggie interrupts.

"I know what Merle is gonna do. He came and told us everything, he figured since we're involved we should know what's going on. He was surprised to find out you hadn't come and told me. And what the hell is wrong with Daryl? Why'd he send you home alone?!" When Maggie gets like this Beth can't get a word in edgewise. And what is she gonna say anyway? 'Oh, Daryl thinks I'm safer as long as I'm nowhere near him.' It's ridiculous and it hurts. She tossed and turned all night trying to rationalize it. But she couldn't and she still can't.

Instead of coming up with a vague excuse she doesn't say anything. Doesn't have an answer for Maggie except to bow her head, bite her lip and take deep breaths so she doesn't start crying. Which absolutely does not work.

"Oh honey, come on… I'm not trying to make you cry." Maggie hurries from behind the counter and wraps her arms around Beth. "This is serious though Bethy. And I don't understand why he-"

"He thinks it's his fault, that me being with him puts me in some kinda danger or something… I don't know." She swipes at her wet face and runny nose as Maggie reaches for the tissue box.

"His fault? Y'all weren't even at the bar when it happened. Does he know these guys from before or something?"

"No. It's just, he thinks he isn't good enough for me. We were together, I stayed with him. He told me he loved me and then-" The bell on the office door tinkles and the girls look up as Rick Grimes walks in, well Sheriff Grimes. He's obviously on the clock.

"Hey Maggie, Beth I came to… Something wrong? What happened?" Rick's quick to take a visual of the office and for some reason, this irritates Beth.

"Did Daryl put you up to this? That patrol car yesterday!" Beth moves from Maggie's arms and brushes away the hair that's sticking to her wet cheeks. Rick looks a little sheepish and a whole lot guilty.

"He did. But he asked me not to say anything to you, just to keep an eye out. Until this thing's handled."

"So he is doing something Beth, he didn't just send you off-" Maggie is smiling and she keeps looking over at Rick.

"Doing something? Why couldn't he just let me stay with him? I wanna, he makes me feel.. Damn him! Rick, you said he was a good man, you told my daddy that!" Beth doesn't know what she's feeling anymore, but seeing the two of them smiling is making her angrier by the minute.

"He is. One of the best." Rick nods reaching out for Beth's hand.

"Then why is he blaming all this on himself? Why's he pushing me away saying I'm better off-" Beth doesn't finish what she's saying as Rick gently takes her hand and puts an arm around her shoulders.

"Cause that's what Daryl does. In his mind, he ain't never gonna be good enough for the likes of sweet Beth Greene. He had a rough life, hasn't had many good things. He's starting to though and he's getting used to it, but you, you turned his world upside down. And don't you ever tell him I told you any of this, but when he asked me if I'd keep an eye on you, he told me he loves you, said he never loved anyone except his mom and brother and even that wasn't anywhere near how he loves you."

"This is how he loves me? Letting everyone else watch out for me?" Beth feels her resolve slipping although it was never solid anyway.

"He sat out in front of your apartment all night Beth. Borrowed my buddy Shane's truck so you wouldn't recognize him if you happened to look out the window. He left before the sun came up." Rick's still smiling at her and Maggie is sniffling behind them. Beth is at a loss for what to say or do.

"What," her shoulders slump and Rick pulls her into a hug, "so what do I do now?"

"Darlin' I can't help you there. Daryl's one of my closest friends, more like a brother, but Daryl and women never was an issue. Until now. I have no clue what to tell you. Just give it time."

"But what if-"

"If he doesn't get his head on straight and get you two back where you belong, I'm gonna break up with Michonne and date you myself!" This makes her laugh and she hugs him even harder.

"No, you wouldn't!" He's a good man and she loves him. She had a huge crush on him when she was about 14. Used to hide in her room whenever he came out to the farm and peek through her window at him when he stood on the porch with her daddy.

"Well, you're right. I love my girl." Rick smiles and lets go of Beth. She glances over at Maggie. Her sister's holding a tissue to her nose and her eyes are red.

"Why are you crying?" Beth shakes her head, baffled by Maggie's sudden emotional outburst.

"It's just sweet. Daryl loves you and, well I'm pregnant and everything makes me cry." And she starts crying again.

The rest of the day flies by and just like Monday she stays busy and doesn't have time to let Rick's words sink in. Her heart is a little lighter though and the knowledge that she's going to be an aunt probably helps. Maggie and Glenn are having a little get together on Thursday night at T's to celebrate their engagement. When Beth looks for the ring thinking she'd missed it because she was upset, Maggie says the ring is coming soon.

"It all kinda happened so fast." Maggie is picking at her lunch that Tara delivered. She downed the shake first thing but isn't interested in the mashed potatoes.

"Do you think it's a good idea to rush it? Just cause there's a baby and all?" Beth asks tentatively.

"I would've said yes even if I wasn't pregnant. I do love him Bethy." Beth smiles and swallows the lump in her throat. She knows what it feels like now. Love. It feels like Daryl's hand holding hers, like the way he looks at her when she's walking across the room towards him, how he's ingrained himself in her world and no one else will ever come close to being what he is to her. That's what love feels like. It also hurts like hell too.

X X X

Daryl's in a foul mood and the week starts off in a bad way. The guys at the shop steer clear of him as much as possible which makes taking care of business a bit tricky. Caesar finally confronts him on Tuesday afternoon as he's cleaning up his area.

"Man if you need to take some time-" Caesar starts in and Daryl feels his hackles rising.

"I got shit ta do here man. I can't be takin' off." The truth is being at the shop and staying busy helps keep his mind off of Beth and all the ways he's messing up her life. Without anything to distract him, like at night when he sits in front of her apartment, he can't turn off his thoughts and it's like a war in his head. One side screaming that he's a piece of shit, the other saying he does deserve her and she loves him and he should just call her up and take her home with him.

But he doesn't do anything. Because he's afraid. And confused. And stupid.

"I got some shit goin' on. 'S my fault. I ain' gonna take it out on these guys anymore." That's as close to an apology as he's gonna give. And Caesar knows it, he knows Daryl to a certain extent anyway.

"Hey if it's relationship stuff the best advice I got for you is if she's happy, you're gonna be happy. Do whatever it takes. Saved my ass from sleeping on the couch many nights my friend." Caesar turns and walks off. Daryl didn't ask for his advice, but he can't help but smirk at the thought of his boss bowing down to his tiny wife. But there is a tiny blonde he thinks he'd drop to his knees for and stay there for as long as she wanted him to. So maybe it's not that far fetched.

"Hey Martinez, get lunch for the guys tomorrow. Take it outta my check." Daryl mumbles to himself about the buncha assholes he works with and Martinez butting into his personal life, but in reality, sometimes it feels good to have people who even care enough to bitch about him.

Wednesday starts out fine. Merle made him stay home last night and get some sleep. He sat outside Beth's apartment with the promise that Daryl would be the first one he called if anything sketchy went on. Merle'd also talked to the president of the local MC, HoH (Hounds of Hell, fuckin' stupid name as far as Daryl's concerned) and the dude was pretty pissed off. Messin' with civilians, (people not in the MC) is frowned upon by the club and most other clubs. It's definitely grounds for losing a prospect patch. He promised Merle he'd have some answers for him soon. That made Daryl feel a little bit better. He didn't associate with the MC, but Merle did and they had been pretty decent to his brother.

He'd fallen asleep and slept all night. He dreamt of Beth, but it was nice and he'd said everything in that dream that he wants to say to her in person. Because this, him and her, they have something and he's gonna fight for it. Once he figures exactly how he's gonna fix this- again.

It's mid-morning when things start to go south. Daryl's under the hood of a Volkswagon Jetta helping Dwight locate the fuel line when he hears the last voice on Earth he wants to hear say his name.

"Hey, Daryl." It's Hershel Greene. Daryl almost bumps his head standing up and Dwight's eyes widen to double their size. He probably thinks Daryl is gonna cuss this old guy out for interrupting him. But Dwight has no idea who this man is.

"G' morning Mr. Greene." Daryl starts to extend his hand, realizes it's covered in grease, yanks it back and wipes it on his jeans before reaching out again to shake Hershel's hand.

"No need for formalities, call me Hershel." The man chuckles a little. "I'm sorry to bother you here at work, but I needed to have a word with you son, about Beth." The expression on his face is still a friendly one. Daryl doesn't think he wants to kill him or anything.

"Um, yeah sure, I.. Dwight, 's that black tube I pulled up there. Check it fer leaks." He grabs a rag off of a work bench and leads Hershel out of the garage. There's a rickety picnic table where the guys have lunch and this is where he takes Hershel. Daryl digs in his pocket for his smokes but changes his mind as the older man watches him. He's nervous as hell, but what this man thinks of him is important. A smoke can wait."

"Ya wanted to talk, about Beth?" Daryl cringes at the thought that Hershel is gonna tell him to leave his daughter alone. Just back off and find someone his own age.

"What's going on son? Maggie told me about the fight at the bar. She also told me about what happened to Glenn's restaurant and your brother's broken nose. Now I know Beth is an adult, but she's still my little girl and if she's in any kind of danger-"

"Ain't gonna let nothin' happen to her. I won'. " He's shaking his head and biting at the inside of his cheek.

"No? Do you love my daughter?" Daryl's stunned. He doesn't quite know how to respond to this question. He only just told Beth he loves her. This is still so new for them both. And in more ways than one.

"I do. I love her." Daryl forces the words out even though his throat constricts and his mouth is suddenly dry. He isn't ashamed of his feelings for Beth, but he's a private man. And the only reason he's not telling the guy it's none of his fuckin' business is because he's her daddy.

"Can you tell me what you're doing to ensure nothing happens to her?" Can he? And can he guarantee that what he's doing for Beth is enough? He can't and he's second guessing himself again and everything he'd told himself earlier about fighting for her, for them seems pathetic if he can't even protect her.

"I got people watching out for her when I can't do it myself. Rick's helping me out." Daryl feels like an idiot explaining all this. Raising a hand to his mouth he chews on the nail and flicks his eyes to Hershel.

"Why isn't she with you? Or maybe she should come home with me?" Hershel's waiting for an answer or something and Daryl doesn't have anything to give.

" 'M the reason she's in this mess." There he said it. Now Hershel can tell him he needs to stay out of Beth's life.

"You? From what I can gather you were just involved because of your brother Merle-"

"Yep, my brother Merle, jus' a couple a no good redneck assholes-" His defenses are up. It's just instinct, someone has a harsh word for Merle or a dig at his last name and he immediately lashes out. He's working on that though, trying. Shame and embarrassment fill him up and he stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"That what you think of yourself? I know for a fact my daughter would not fall in love with a redneck asshole son." Dammit, this man can't make up his mind. One minute it seems like he's gonna kick Daryl to the curb and the next he's almost singing Daryl's praises. It's confusing and he has a headache. Rubbing his face, Daryl looks up at him.

"Ain't no college graduate, jus' a mechanic." Wherever that came from. There's no shame in being a blue collar worker, but as far as Beth goes, she deserves the best.

"You don't think very highly of yourself and I get that, been in your shoes myself. But I'll tell you what, I think my little girl loves you too and you better do right by her or let her go." Hershel turns to watch a tow truck bringing a car into the shop. Daryl's still waiting to be told in no uncertain terms that he's not wanted, but that isn't happening. In fact, it's almost like Hershel is trying to convince him that he deserves Beth.

"You can let your past define you or you can rise above it. The choice is yours." He starts to head out to the parking lot. "Have a good day son."

Once Hershel is in his truck and driving away Daryl lights up that smoke.

X X X

Beth reaches over and turns off her bedside lamp. She hesitates before sinking back into her pillows hoping sleep will quiet her mind. Slipping out of bed she goes to her window and peeks through the opening in her curtains. Streetlights illuminate the parking lot, but out beyond their reach where the shadows start to stretch she sees the outline of a vehicle, 'borrowed my buddy Shane's truck'. It's him. She knows it's him. Before she can talk herself out of it, she picks up her phone.

B- You're out there. She sits at the end of the bed, phone held tightly in both hands. Waiting. It's a good two minutes before her phone vibrates softly against her palms. Touching the screen she reads the message.

D- I am.

B- You always gonna be out there? She isn't asking him if he's always going to be watching out for her because she knows the answer to that. What she wants to know is if he's only always gonna be out there.

D- Go to sleep girl. It hurts but it's a soft ache and she'll take it for now. She goes to the window again and pulls the curtain back enough that she can see him. And she's pretty sure he can see her, or at least enough to know she's there. Her phone vibrates again and when she reads the text some of that sweet ache spills over onto her cheeks.

D- xo

A/N There you go! A little bit of sweetness, that could all fall apart in the next chapter because well when they both said they weren't good with the whole relationship thing, they weren't lying! I hope this tides you over for a bit! Now I need to go have a drink because this 5-hour flight is going to give me all kinds of anxiety! Thank you for coming back to read my stuff! You're all awesome!